A Texas attorney was accused this week of shooting his son after mistaking him for an intruder and then burning the body, officials said on Thursday.
The Incident
Michael C. Howard, a 68-year-old attorney from Houston, told investigators that he accidentally shot and killed his 20-year-old son, Mark Randall Howard, with a shotgun on Sunday. According to a statement from the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office, Howard said he mistook his son for an intruder while at a home he owns in Sabine County.
KPLC, a station affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus, reported that Howard initially called out to the person in his home and fired a warning shot from his gun, prior to shooting his own son.
According to the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office, Howard waited until Monday to contact authorities. By that time, he had moved his son’s body to a remote part of his property, placed it on a woodpile, and “cremated” it.
Deputies discovered human remains, including bones, in the trash pile and sent them to the medical examiner’s office for further analysis.
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“[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 Sabine County Sheriff’s Office said, CBS affiliate KHOU reported. “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.'”
Howard described the incident to investigators as a “horrible accident,” according to the sheriff’s office. The statement did not address whether Howard explained why he allegedly burned his son’s body after the shooting.
The Burned Body
According to KHOU, the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office said, “All bones appeared to have been burned based on charring and the area they were found in, was heavy with soot and ash.”
“The recovered body parts have been sent to the Medical Examiner’s Office,” the sheriff’s office added.
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