Vanished twins’ mom says ‘guilty’

PITTSBURGH — A woman who was accused of concealing the whereabouts of her twins, who haven’t been seen in more than 10 years, has pleaded guilty to lesser charges and will serve four years of probation.

On Monday, Patricia Fowler pleaded guilty to making false unsworn statements to police in connection with the Allegheny County police investigation into the whereabouts of the twins.

The twins, Ivon and Inisha Fowler, would be nearly 19 years old now, though detectives have said they fear the twins are dead because they’ve found no trace of them in years.

[EMAIL UPDATES: Get free breaking news alerts, daily newsletters with top headlines delivered to your inbox]

Patricia Fowler, 48, also pleaded guilty to theft and fraud for collecting nearly $57,000 in public assistance on behalf of the twins. She must repay that money as part of her sentence.

Fowler pleaded guilty after prosecutors on Monday dropped charges against another of her sons, Datwon Fowler, who will be 20 in August. He had been accused of pretending to be Ivon Fowler in a text message to police last year.

In May, Allegheny County Judge Thomas Flaherty threw out more serious charges that the Penn Hills woman obstructed justice and concealed the children’s whereabouts from their incarcerated father. The judge reasoned that the mother couldn’t obstruct a child abuse case because there was no evidence the twins had been harmed — they simply can’t be accounted for.

Upcoming Events