Woman Waiting On Gun License Allegedly Murdered By Ex-Boyfriend

A New Jersey woman who had applied in April for a handgun permit was stabbed to death in her driveway on Wednesday night.

New Jersey has stricter gun control laws than many other states, and the application in this instance was still working its way through the system when this savage crime took place.

The victim, hairstylist Carol Bowne, 39, had obtained a restraining order against an ex-boyfriend and installed a security system at her home because she felt threatened by the possibility of domestic violence.

Police responding to a 911 call found Bowne lying in the driveway of her home with multiple stab wounds; EMTs transported her to a local hospital where she was later tragically pronounced dead. The neighborhood is described as being in shock as a result of the brutal attack.

Authorities have charged the alleged former boyfriend, Michael Eitel, 45, with first-degree murder, and he is being sought by the U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force. Eitel is reportedly a convicted felon. Anyone with information on the possible whereabouts of the suspect has been asked to contact local law enforcement.

The horrific crime occurred in a small Camden County town in south Jersey while her gun paperwork was still pending.

“Berlin Township Police Chief Leonard Check said Bowne applied for a gun license on April 21, and that she had inquired Monday about her request. The application process typically takes two months or more as police collect information on the applicant, including fingerprints and reference checks. ‘We did not get the fingerprint information yet,’ said Check,” the Courier-Post reported.

The owner of the hair salon where Carol Bowne worked for 20 years described her as “a great employee, a great person…she cared about everybody who walked through that door, and every client was her friend. She was invited to every wedding, every baby shower, everything.”

Carol Bowne was due shortly to go on vacation to the Dominican Republic to celebrate her 40th birthday.

“No one can ever know if Bowne would have saved her own life had she had a firearm because she was never allowed the chance to own one thanks to handgun laws in New Jersey,” The Federalist Papers declared.

“She did absolutely everything she was supposed to,” a co-worker said of Bowne, in an apparent reference to obtaining the restraining order and applying for a gun license for self-protection.

[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images News]