Executive Summary
- Austin Clowes is scheduled to stand trial on November 30, 2026, for the 2021 murder of Steven Kilwein.
- Police arrested Clowes in July 2025 after DNA from a discarded water bottle matched DNA found on the victim’s clothing.
- The victim was found in his Bozeman home with fatal “chop-type injuries” after initially being thought to have been electrocuted.
- Clowes has pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide and is currently held on a $1 million bond.
A trial date has been formally set for Austin John Clowes, the Bozeman resident charged with the 2021 murder of Steven Kilwein. During a court proceeding conducted via video on Thursday, January 15, 2026, judicial officials scheduled the trial to commence on November 30, 2026. Clowes, who was arrested in July 2025 following a breakthrough in the four-year cold case, remains in custody on a $1 million bond.
The investigation dates back to Sunday, June 13, 2021, when police discovered Steven Kilwein deceased inside his home at the corner of 9th and Mendenhall in Bozeman. According to the Bozeman Police Department, officers were dispatched to the residence after Kilwein’s family requested a welfare check, having been unable to reach him. While initial reports suggested electrocution as a potential cause of death, a subsequent coroner’s investigation revealed the victim had sustained “multiple chop-type injuries,” and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Court documents indicate that Clowes, a graduate of Montana State University, was a person of interest early in the investigation. Detectives recovered an iPhone belonging to Clowes in the front yard of the victim’s home during the initial crime scene sweep. When interviewed by law enforcement at the time, Clowes claimed he had dropped the phone while walking home from a bar and denied entering the residence. He initially refused to provide a DNA sample to investigators.
The case remained unsolved until late 2025, when forensic evidence provided a critical link. In November 2021, detectives retrieved a discarded water bottle from Clowes’ trash to obtain a DNA sample. According to prosecutors, the Montana State Crime Lab later confirmed that DNA found on the victim’s pajama bottoms matched the sample obtained from Clowes. This evidence led to his arrest in July 2025. Clowes entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of deliberate homicide in August 2025.
Procedural Timeline and Legal Context
The scheduling of a trial date marks a significant procedural step in a case that languished as an unsolved homicide for four years. The substantial gap between the alleged offense and the trial highlights the complexities often inherent in cold case prosecutions relying on forensic DNA analysis. As the case moves toward the November 2026 trial docket, proceedings will likely focus on the admissibility of the genetic evidence secured via the collection of the defendant’s refuse. It is important to note that Austin Clowes is presumed innocent of all charges until proven guilty in a court of law.
