A father has been charged with fatally shooting his adult son with Down syndrome at a residence in East Texas, claiming he mistook him for an intruder, and then burning his body in what prosecutors called a “bizarre crime.”
Michael C. Howard, 68, a Houston attorney, told detectives that he was at his Sabine County house on Sunday evening when he accidentally murdered his 20-year-old son, Mark Randall Howard, with a shotgun, Sabine County Sheriff’s Office Deputy J.P. MacDonough stated at a news conference.
Howard did not call the sheriff’s office until Monday afternoon, approximately 17 hours after using a tractor backhoe to transport his son’s body about 2 miles away to a secluded region on his more than 2,500-acre property, where he deposited the body on a wood garbage pile and then “cremated” him, according to MacDonough.
Howard and his son arrived at the residence in Sabine County, roughly 170 miles northeast of Houston, on Thursday or Friday, according to authorities.
Deputies discovered human pieces and bones in the trash and transported them to the Jefferson County medical examiner’s office.
Howard informed investigators that the entire incident was a “horrible accident.” MacDonough stated that Howard told investigators that he “cremated his son per what he felt his son would have wanted.”
“It is a bizarre crime anywhere you are just because of the nature of the event,” according to MacDonough. “Mr. Howard committed this act and in the furtherance of that, burned the body and cleaned the crime scene, which as an investigator, I would take as indicative of nefarious purposes or for nefarious purposes.”
Howard’s son had Down syndrome, but he was well-functioning and had a job, MacDonough added.
Two days before the incident, officials replied to Howard’s call reporting the theft of certain property, including a lawn mower and a trailer. MacDonough failed to explain whether the thefts contributed to Howard believing his son was an invader.
Howard remains detained in Sabine County on a $20 million bond after being charged with murder and tampering with evidence. Authorities stated that additional charges could be filed.
It was unclear whether Howard had an attorney to speak on his behalf.