EXCLUSIVE Aundria Bowmans birth mom reveals painful twist in case that inspired Netflix series Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter

The determined mother of the girl whose disappearance and murder inspired a true crime Netflix series is now gearing up to sue the wife of her daughters killer after she was shockingly handed her ashes, DailyMail.com can reveal. 

Cathy Terkanians story is at the heart of last years Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter, which chronicles her relentless search for answers about her biological daughter, Aundria Bowman who disappeared in 1989.

Aundria, who was born Alexis Badger, was put up for adoption in 1974, nine months after Terkanian gave birth to her at the age of 16. She was adopted by Dennis and Brenda Bowman through an agency.

It wasnt until 2010 that Terkanian, a retired nurse from Gloucester, Massachusetts, discovered her daughter was missing after receiving a letter from the agency requesting a DNA sample – and she became determined to track her down.

After years of dogged investigation – during which another girls body was found – adoptive dad Bowman confessed to Aundrias murder, and a body was recovered.

But in a cruel twist, her ashes were handed to her killers wife, Aundrias adoptive mother, Brenda Bowman.

Although Brenda wasnt accused of being connected to the murder, she is reportedly reluctant to say anything against her husband. She did not respond to DailyMail.coms request for comment.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Terkanian revealed she is now preparing a civil court fight to get more information about the location of Aundrias ashes.

Cathy Terkanians relentless pursuit of answers regarding the disappearance and murder of her biological daughter is chronicled in 2024 Netflix series Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter

Aundria Bowman, born Alexis Badger, (pictured as a child and young teen) was put up for adoption when she was nine months old in 1974 by Terkanian who was then 16.

She is also campaigning to ban closed adoptions in memory of her murdered daughter.

Terkanian says she was forced into a closed adoption – in which records of the biological parents are kept sealed – and which she claims prioritizes the adoptive parents over the child.

After that monster that murdered my daughter was sentenced to 50 years, they gave his wife my daughters remains, she told DailyMail.com.

And that woman had them cremated.

These people that murder the adopted children should not get their remains because they will take those remains and torment the biological family if they know.

And likely, they wont because closed adoption is the law of the land, she added.

Terkanian said that Brenda Bowman has said that she scattered Aundrias ashes, but she doesnt believe her.

I want her under oath telling me what she did with those ashes. And in a civil court, the burden of proof is less than in a criminal court.

There are a couple other victims that might join me in a class action suit against her. So Im playing with all the possibilities.

Aundria was adopted by Brenda Bowman and her husband Dennis through an adoption agency

Aundria went missing in 1989 at the age of 14, but it wasnt until 2020 that the horrifying truth came to light when her adoptive father Dennis confessed to murdering her and burying her body in their backyard

Talking of her plight to also make open adoption a legal standard, she added: Closed adoption doesnt allow the biological family to know who adopted the child, she explained.

And its set up for the adopter, not for the child or the biological family.

Its so that the adopter can completely envelop that child, name it whatever they want, and basically treat it however they want to treat it.

The biological family has no say, so I was coerced out of my daughter. 

Terkanian explained she gave her daughter up for adoption in 1974, when she was a teenager, under pressure from her family.

A social worker from Michigan reached out to her in 1989 and said recently discovered unidentified remains in Wisconsin could belong to her birth daughter.

At the time, the Bowmans told police she had run away from home and she remained a missing person for more than 30 years.

In December 2021, Aundrias adoptive father pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, but Michigan authorities awarded her remains to Brenda

On March 11, 1989, Aundria went missing, she was just 14 years old at the time. Brenda and Dennis told police she had run away from home

In November 2019, Dennis Bowman was arrested for the September 1980 murder of another girl, Kathleen Doyle.

While pending trial he confessed to police that he had also killed Aundria.

Skeletal remains were recovered under a layer of cement, and DNA confirmed it was Cathys daughter.

In December 2021, Dennis Bowman pleaded no contest to second-degree murder.

Michigan authorities awarded Aundrias remains to Bowmans wife, Brenda.

Beyond her legal battles, Terkanian is planning to write a book.

It just would be very cathartic for me, but it would also be a roadmap for some people.

There are women right now who would be coerced into closed adoptions or who are being lied to that open adoptions are the law of the land, she said.

Dennis spent years avoiding suspicion around his daughters disappearance as well his history of violent crimes

Her book would also serve as a guide for those searching for missing loved ones, drawing from her own two-decade-long investigation, she said.

I came 20 years behind this, and I thought it, and I put my finger right on where they needed to dig.

So I would like to explain myself and how I managed to think that through.

Although Terkanian acknowledges that awareness of adoption practices has grown, she believes the child welfare system has only adapted by finding new ways to forcibly separate families.

For Terkanian, closed adoption is more than just an outdated system – it is a mechanism that allows abuse to flourish.

Closed adoption allows all this stuff to happen, and theres no recourse for the biological family, she said.

I want that to stop because these children are being taken by who knows who and murdered, and there are more than you could even imagine. It has to be abolished.

She argues that open adoption should be the legal standard.

Terkanian, pictured in her youth, explained she gave her daughter up for adoption when she was a teenager, under pressure from her family

Terkanian revealed she is now preparing a civil court fight to get more information about the location of Aundrias ashes

It takes a community to raise a child, she explained.

But if theyre being tormented and starved and basically kept at the edge of fearful for their lives, the adopter has the upper hand.

Despite her sorrow, Terkanian remains steadfast in her pursuit of justice.

I dont know if I can do it in my lifetime, but its time to get a movement started.