Sixteen-year-old Peyton Liam Carnot appeared in court this week for an arraignment in a felony case filed in Marinette County. Carnot appeared in person alongside his attorney, Nicole Morley, as the court confirmed the information filed by the State mirrors the original criminal complaint.
According to that complaint, Carnot and 21-year-old Tyler Birch initially told police that all three young men jumped into the water from the Marinette Government Pier on August 20th of 2025. They told investigators the victim, Jacob Bowerman, was struggling to swim. Carnot and Birch said they attempted to help Bowerman out of the water but were unsuccessful and eventually called 911.
Carnot told police that after about five minutes in the water, he climbed out to call for help while Birch tried to keep Bowerman above the surface. Carnot also stated that while the three were in the air after leaping from the break wall, Bowerman told them he could not swim. The complaint states Carnot said he and Birch attempted to hold Bowerman up in the water but were unable to get him back to the break wall as they continued to go under.
However, prosecutors say further investigation revealed a different account. Marinette County District Attorney DeShea Morrow previously told the court investigators learned the victim had expressed he did not want to go into the water, especially at that location. Investigators allege Bowerman wanted to enter the water in a shallower area but instead was picked up and thrown into the water near the end of Government Pier, close to the ship channel where Green Bay begins.
The complaint further states Carnot told investigators he grabbed Bowerman’s hands while Birch grabbed his feet, and the two swung him off the edge into the water. Carnot and Birch then jumped in after him and attempted to help him out but were unsuccessful. The water conditions at the time were described as choppy and unsafe for swimming. Bowerman was later pulled from the water and taken to the hospital, where he died three days later August 23rd. An autopsy ruled his cause of death as drowning.
No additional matters were addressed, and the court adjourned shortly afterward.
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