Coroner says man involved in standoff killed himself

DELCAMBRE — A Delcambre man shot himself in the head Thursday afternoon after an all-day standoff with police officials and negotiators that began when he threatened his girlfriend and her child, authorities said.

Matthew Bowen, 40, was found dead in his South President Street residence around 5:30 p.m. after the Louisiana State Police SWAT team blew out the back door of the home with an explosive charge, Delcambre Police Chief James Broussard said.

Broussard said Bowen threatened his girlfriend Melissa Wetzel, 39, and her son, who fled the home while Bowen and Wetzel were arguing to call the police from a neighbor’s house. Once deputies arrived, Bowen armed himself with a shotgun, but Broussard said he rescued Wetzel from the home and that she was largely uninjured.

Bowen threatened several deputies outside his home with the shotgun, said Capt. Wendell Raborn, spokesman for the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, and then re-entered the home and equipped himself with a high-powered rifle. Raborn said Bowen fired several shots, none of which injured anyone.

Bowen barricaded himself in the residence as police officials evacuated a two-block area in Delcambre. Broussard estimated about a dozen families at home celebrating the Christmas holiday were evacuated.

Negotiators from the Sheriff’s Office and Louisiana State Police spoke with Bowen but could not persuade him drop his weapon and surrender. Raborn said officials lost contact with Bowen around 2 p.m.

The Iberia Parish Coroner’s Office arrived on the scene around 3:40 p.m., but Bowen was not pronounced dead until after 6 p.m.

Iberia Parish Coroner Dr. James Falterman said Bowen committed suicide with the rifle, shooting himself in the head.

Wetzel was taken to Iberia Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries from her dispute with Bowen.

Delcambre Mayor Carol Broussard, who knew Bowen his whole life, said Bowen “has threatened his girlfriend and wife several times before.” Police records show Bowen was arrested in April for driving while intoxicated, though a complete criminal history was not available this morning.

“It looked like this was going to happen,” Carol Broussard said. “He just finished the job this time.”