Meaghan was killed in her Florida home. Now her sister wants to bring her nephews to Australia

Madisson Bowler cherishes childhood memories with her older sister, Meaghan, filled with tennis matches, beach swims, and dreams of one day raising their own kids together.

On Wednesday, the 27-year-old will travel to Florida’s Gulf Coast, where Meaghan lived for 2½ years before she was allegedly murdered by her American husband, Jesse Nicholas Jones, in a shocking domestic attack. Madisson is making the trip in a bid to bring up her sibling’s two young boys in the same nurturing environment she and her sister experienced.

Meaghan Bowler, a 32-year-old former tennis coach and photographer from Terrigal, was killed in the home she shared with Jones, 39, and their children, aged two and nine months at the time of her death in April. Jones called 911 the day after the alleged murder, telling an emergency operator he had stabbed his wife and had dumped her body in their bathtub.

Jones and Bowler married three months after Bowler left Australia in 2023, having met in an online chat group in the COVID lockdowns. The Bowlers lost contact with Meaghan in June 2024 as Jones sought to limit outside communication, leaving the family unaware of her home address and two pregnancies.

Madisson, along with father Tony, will relocate to Florida for up to a year to fight a complex custody battle for Meaghan’s children. The boys are living in Sarasota with their paternal grandmother while their father is in prison.

They will meet the children – now aged two and one – for the first time, as they seek to convince the US courts that Australia is the best place to raise the boys.

“It’ll be a very emotional day, the first time we meet them because we didn’t see Meaghan in such a long time, and obviously, they’re a part of her,” Madisson, a tennis coach living in Terrigal, said. “We can only hope they take on all the great traits of who she was as a person.”

Meaghan was educated at Pymble Ladies’ College and worked at the Sydney Swans and Raine & Horne Mosman before moving overseas. Jones met Meaghan in person when he travelled to Australia in December 2022 after they struck a rapport online.

The Bowler family “begged” Meaghan not to follow Jones to the US, according to Tony, who observed a string of red flags shortly after they were introduced.

“He thought the Earth was flat, he was drinking large amounts of alcohol, at all times of the day, and we just saw the manipulation,” he said. “I thought, this bastard is going to try to steal Meaghan away from us.”

The family intends to apply for temporary custody of the children once they’re in Florida, before pushing for permanent care. The boys don’t have US birth certificates or social security numbers, complicating an administrative process that will include an application for Australian citizenship.

The children’s case will next be heard in court in November, before the criminal trial begins in mid-2027. Jones and his mother are pushing for custody of the boys.

Madisson and Tony have bonded with the children through monthly, court-mandated Zoom calls.

“Because I’ve seen Meaghan as a baby, you can see the resemblance; their eyes and nose and eyebrows look just like Meaghan,” Tony said. “I’d love for them to know who their mother was, and as they grow older, learn about her, so we can pass on what a wonderful person she was.”

Madisson, who will be the boys’ primary caregiver should the family gain custody, hopes they can enjoy a life “completely separate” from what they encountered in Florida.

“We have a chance to take them out of that loop,” Madisson said. “I think that’s what Meaghan would want.”

Jones has been charged with murder by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and is facing a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. He has pleaded not guilty, and has been evaluated by mental health experts for his capacity to stand trial.

Jones’ parental rights will almost certainly be terminated if he’s convicted of murder. Tom Sasser, the former president of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, said under Florida law, it’s “very unusual” for the family of the deceased to be denied custody.

“The preference for decades has been the deceased person’s family over the slayer,” the Florida-based lawyer added.

Sydney-based family law specialist and Mills Oakley partner Susan Warda has joined the Bowlers’ case. Warda will apply for a “mirror” order so any custody agreement ruled in Florida is enforced in Australia. The family has retained a US lawyer for the children’s case.

If you or someone you know needs help, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, or 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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