SABINE COUNTY, Texas — A Houston attorney accused of killing his special-needs son earlier this month and then burning his remains is out of jail, according to the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office.
Michael C. Howard was arrested last week and charged with murder and tampering with evidence on his East Texas property.
Editor’s note: The above video originally aired on Dec. 5.
On Monday, he was released after posting a $1 million bond. The judge ordered Howard to wear an ankle monitor and surrender his passport.
The shooting happened on Sunday, Dec. 1, at Howard’s property on Mount Sinai Road in Sabine County, located in East Texas. The sheriff said Howard waited 17 hours before calling authorities to report his son’s death.
The victim, identified as 20-year-old Mark Randall Howard, had Down syndrome. The sheriff said the victim was high-functioning and employed.
During a press conference on Thursday afternoon, the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office said 17 hours passed between the deadly shooting and Howard calling it in.
The sheriff’s office said Howard reported that he thought an intruder was on his property and opened fire, killing his son. He claimed it was “a horrible accident.”
According to investigators, Howard put Mark’s body in a backhoe tractor and carried it to a remote area on his property where he put him on a trash pile and “cremated” him.
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.”
The sheriff said that the shooting scene had been washed with water, indicating tampering.
Sabine County District Attorney Paul Robbins stated additional charges are being considered.
Deputies had previously responded to theft and burglary reports at Howard’s property. No other suspects are being investigated at this time.
Howard operates a private law practice in the Heights.
WATCH: Dec. 5 news conference by Sabine County sheriff