SABINE COUNTY, Texas (KTRE) - A Houston attorney accused of shooting his special needs son and burning his body in Sabine County has received a $10 million bond. At a press conference Thursday, Sabine County investigator Joseph P. MacDonough shared additional details about what happened Sunday night when Michael C. Howard, 68, of Houston allegedly shot his son, Mark Howard, believing he was an intruder and then cremated his body. MacDonough also shared that Mark Howard had been formally diagnosed with Down syndrome but was “high-functioning.” According to the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office, Michael Howard waited around 17 hours to call police after “accidentally” shooting his son in addition to allegedly washing the scene of the shooting with a water hose. MacDonough also believes that Michael Howard had called his wife and Mark’s older brother before he called the sheriff’s deputy. According to MacDonough, Michael Howard’s wife has also been interviewed by the sheriff’s office. According to MacDonough, the site where Mark Howard’s body was believed to have been burned was around a mile and a half from where the pair were staying on their Sabine County property. Michael Howard allegedly burned his son’s body because he believed it was in accordance with his son’s wishes. Deputies recovered burned fragments of a lower jaw with some teeth remaining at the alleged burn site. Those remains were sent to the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office. According to Sabine County District Attorney Paul Robbins, Michael Howard will be charged with several crimes but notably murder, desecration of a corpse, and tampering with a crime scene. The Sabine County Property was described as a “weekend property” for the Howards. Michael Howard lives in Houston where he works as an attorney. The Sabine County property had been owned for some time by a corporation in Michael Howard’s name and sheriff deputies have been called to the property before. In the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 29, deputies were called to the property regarding the theft of a Kubota tractor and a trailer. The responding deputy left their business card with Michael Howard, with Michael then calling the deputy’s work phone to report the shooting the following Monday around 2 p.m. Michael and Mark Howard are believed to have arrived at the property on either Thursday or Friday and are believed to have been the only people staying there. However, one other person, noted as a “caretaker” had access to the property.
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Man accused of killing, cremating special needs son in Sabine County gets $10M bond
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