SABINE COUNTY, Texas — This afternoon, we expect to learn new details from East Texas about a Houston attorney accused of killing his special-needs son over the weekend.
According to the State Bar of Texas, Michael C. Howard operates a private law practice in the Heights.
What we know right now
- Michael C. Howard is charged with murder and tampering with evidence
- Howard is an attorney based in the Heights in Houston
- The victim, identified as 20-year-old Mark Howard, has Down syndrome
- Deadly shooting happened on Mount Sinai Road
- Burned body parts and bones were found on the property
The shooting happened Sunday night at Howard’s property on Mount Sinai Road in Sabine County, located in East Texas.
The Sabine County Sheriff’s Office said Howard reported thinking an intruder was on his property and opened fire.
However, investigators said Howard shot his 20-year-old son, Mark, who had Down syndrome. They claimed he then placed Mark’s body in the front-loading bucket of a backhoe tractor and carried it to a remote area on his property. They further claim that he put Mark Howard’s body on a trash pile and “cremated” him.
Michael Howard told deputies the incident was a “horrible accident.”
“[Michael] Howard also pointed out the shotgun that he claimed to have used in the incident which was located inside one of the buildings on the property,” the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies searched the structures and the area around for the son but did not locate him. Howard then indicated the area which he had taken his son to for what he called ‘cremation’.”
After obtaining a search warrant, the sheriff’s office stated that deputies and Texas Rangers found what they believed were body parts and bones.
“All bones appeared to have been burned based on charring and the area they were found in, was heavy with soot and ash,” the sheriff’s office said. “The recovered body parts have been sent to the Medical Examiner’s Office.”
Howard is charged with murder and tampering with evidence. He remains in custody on a $20 million bond.