A lawyer in the United States is said to have shot his 20-year-old son, burned his body and then called the police to tell them what he claimed was a “terrible accident”. According to the PeopleMichael Howard, 68, of Houston, Texas, was arrested Monday and charged with murder and tampering with evidence. His son, Mark Howard, was diagnosed with Down syndrome and had a job. The father allegedly told police he “mistaken” his son for an intruder on his property and shot him.
Sabine County Investigator JP MacDonough said the 68-year-old was showing officers around his property when they arrived on scene, the outlet reported. He provided them with the shotgun he allegedly used to shoot his son before leading them to the woodpile where the 20-year-old's burned body lay.
Michael Howard “had taken the body of the deceased, placed it in the front bucket of a backhoe and carried it to a remote area on his property and placed the body on a pile of wood and other flammable materials, which had been burned.” rather set up and then, in his words, 'cremated' his son in accordance with what he thought his son would have wanted,” the investigator said, adding that the crime scene appeared to have been “washed” with a “water hose.”
Howard says the “whole thing was a terrible accident,” JP MacDonough claimed.
“It is a bizarre crime. Mr. Howard committed this act and in furtherance of it burned the body and then cleaned up the crime scene, which as an investigator I would view as indicative of nefarious purposes,” MacDonough said.
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The victim's mother and his two siblings were not home at the time of the incident, police said.
Separately, the district attorney said his office is investigating possible additional charges, including desecration and mishandling of a corpse, as well as other charges related to tampering with the scene of a crime.
The 68-year-old is currently in custody. His bail is $10 million per charge.