SABINE COUNTY, TEXAS — The Texas Attorney General’s Office will prosecute Houston attorney Michael C. Howard, 68, who says he shot his adult son by mistake. Howard reportedly told investigators he thought his son, Mark Howard, who had Down syndrome, was an intruder at a lake house near the Toledo Bend Reservoir in 2024, according to Law&Crime. Investigators allege he then moved his son’s body and burned it on a wood and trash pile that had already been set up. Howard faces a murder charge and a separate count of tampering with evidence.
Why the State Took Over the Case
The case moved to the state level after District Attorney Paul Robbins filed a motion to recuse his office. Local staff might be needed as witnesses at trial, and Sabine and San Augustine counties share the same District Attorney’s office, creating a high risk of conflicts of interest.
District Judge Jim Payne signed the order transferring the case to the Attorney General’s Office, KTRE reported. The Texas Rangers have also completed a review of the death.
Father Called It a “Horrible Accident”
Police reports say Howard contacted the District Attorney’s office the day after the shooting. His conversation with the chief investigator was his first contact with law enforcement about what happened.
According to the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office, Howard said he had accidentally shot his son and called it a horrible accident. An affidavit alleges he waited about 17 hours before reporting the shooting.
Investigators Say the Body Was Moved and Burned
Investigators allege Howard used the front loading bucket of a backhoe tractor to move his son’s body to a remote part of the property. The sheriff’s office says he placed the body on a wood and trash pile that had been set up beforehand and then burned the remains.
The affidavit also alleges he washed the scene and burned the body about 1.5 miles away. While carrying out a search warrant, investigators found the remains on his property. The area was covered in soot and ash, and the bones appeared to have been burned.
Out of Jail on $1 Million Bond
Howard was arrested on a murder charge and faces a separate count of tampering with evidence. He is currently out of jail after posting a $1 million bond.
The case has drawn wide attention because of the father’s claim of a mistake and the actions investigators say came afterward. Prosecutors are expected to focus on the delay in reporting and what happened to the body.
Past Discipline in His Legal Career
Howard runs a private law practice in the Heights neighborhood of Houston, handling family law, personal injury and oil and gas cases. Records show the Board of Disciplinary Appeals suspended him in 1995 after he pleaded no contest to third-degree felony theft in Harris County.
He received deferred adjudication and one year of probation, and his suspension lasted the length of that probation. Howard has not been convicted in his son’s death, and the case will now move forward under the Attorney General’s Office.
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