Sabine County Sheriff’s Department Investigator J.P. MacDonough announced on Tuesday that murder suspect Michael C. Howard has bonded out of jail. Howard, who is a 68-year-old Houston attorney, is accused of shooting and killing his 20-year-old son, Mark Randall Howard, who had down-syndrome. Investigators say he then burned the body until all that was left was a few charred bones and a lower jawbone and teeth. The killing occurred on the night of Sunday, December 1st at the family’s lake house which sits on some 2,500 acres of land in the Fairmount Community. MacDonough says Howard reported the death the following day, and during questioning he claimed that he shot and killed the boy because he mistook him to be an intruder. When asked why he burned the body, MacDonough said Howard told him because he thought that’s what his son would have wanted. Howard was arrested and charged with Murder and Tampering with Evidence/Human Corpse. His bond was set at $20 million. However word is that the bond was reduced after Howard submitted a check for $1 million and agreed to wear a GPS equipped ankle bracelet. With his release on bond, Howard is required to wear a GPS ankle monitor and he must also surrender his travel passports.
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