A heartbreaking event occurred last weekend near the Toledo Bend Reservoir in Texas, when a father, mistaking his adult son for an intruder, fatally shot him. The father, Michael C. Howard, a 68-year-old attorney from Houston, subsequently burned his son’s body on a heap of wood and garbage, referring to the incident as a “terrible accident,” as per local law enforcement reports.
The Sabine County Sheriff’s Office revealed that Howard was spending the weekend with his son, Mark Howard, who had Down syndrome, at a lake house several hours away from Houston. The fatal shooting allegedly happened on Sunday night when Howard reportedly confused his son for an intruder on the property.
On December 2, 2024, Howard reached out to the Sheriff’s Office, informing them that he had “accidentally” shot his son. The Sheriff’s Office shared the details of the incident in a press release, which was later posted on Facebook by the local Sabine County Reporter newspaper.
After the shooting, Howard admitted to the police that he had moved his son’s body to a secluded area on his property using a backhoe tractor. It was here that he allegedly burned his son’s body on a pile of wood and garbage that had been previously arranged.
When law enforcement executed a search warrant, they found Mark Howard’s remains. The Sheriff’s Office stated that all the bones seemed to have been burned, as evidenced by charring, and the area was heavily covered in soot and ash.
Howard was subsequently arrested and charged with murder and tampering with evidence. He is currently being held on a $20 million bond.
According to the State Bar of Texas website, Howard operates a private law practice in Houston’s Heights neighborhood, specializing in ethics-legal malpractice, family law, personal injury litigation, oil, gas and energy resources, and real estate.
Records show that Howard has had previous encounters with the law. In 1995, the Board of Disciplinary Appeals suspended him after he pleaded no contest to third-degree felony theft in Harris County. He was given deferred adjudication and placed on one year of probation, with his suspension lasting the length of his probation.