A man has been accused of shooting and killing his son with Down syndrome at a house in East Texas, after claiming he mistook him for an intruder, and then burning his body in what authorities described on Thursday as a “bizarre crime.”
Michael C. Howard, 68, a lawyer from Houston, told investigators that he was at a house he owned in Sabine County on Sunday night when he accidentally shot and killed his 20-year-old son, Mark Randall Howard, with a shotgun, said Sabine County Sheriff’s Deputy J.P. MacDonough during a press conference.
Howard did not contact the sheriff’s office until Monday afternoon, about 17 hours after he used a backhoe to move his son’s body about 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) away to a remote area of his more than 1,011-hectare (2,500-acre) property, and placed the body in a pile of wood debris before “incinerating” it, said MacDonough. Howard and his son had arrived at the Sabine County house—located about 274 kilometers (170 miles) northeast of Houston—on Thursday or Friday, according to authorities.
Officers found body parts and bones in the debris pile and sent them to the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Howard told investigators it was all a “horrible accident.” MacDonough said Howard told investigators that he “cremated his son in accordance with what he believed his son would have wanted.”
“It’s a strange crime, no matter how you look at it, due to the nature of the event,” MacDonough remarked. “Mr. Howard committed this act and, to carry it out, he burned the body and cleaned the crime scene, which, as an investigator, I would consider indicative of malicious intent or for malicious purposes.”
Howard’s son had been diagnosed with Down syndrome but was highly functional and had a job, MacDonough noted.
Two days before the shooting, authorities responded to a call from Howard reporting the theft of several items, including a large lawnmower and a trailer. MacDonough declined to say whether the thefts could have played a role in Howard thinking his son was an intruder.
Howard remained incarcerated in Sabine County under bonds totaling $20 million after being charged with murder and tampering with evidence. Authorities said additional charges may be forthcoming.
It is unclear whether Howard has an attorney representing him.