“A bizarre crime”: he shoots his son with a shotgun after “mistaking him for an intruder”, then takes the body 3 kilometers away and cremates it on a pile of trash

“A bizarre crime” shakes up the authorities Texas (United States) this week.

Indeed, this Sunday, a man killed his son “by mistake”. According to his statements, he would have taken him for an intruder. At least that's what Michael C. Howard, 68, a Houston lawyer, said after shooting his son, Mark Randall Howard, 20, with a shotgun.

Malicious act?

But investigators are perplexed because of several elements which suggest that the act could have been malicious, report our colleagues from the New York Post. First, because Mark had Down syndrome. Also and above all, because Michael did not directly call the police. On the contrary, he transported the body 3.5 km from his home after the tragedy, and cremated it '”on a pile of wood waste”, “as he thought his son would have wanted”. It is “a horrible accident”he insisted. He who ended up contacting the authorities the next day.

More “It’s a bizarre crime.”declared Sheriff JP MacDonough at a press conference. “Mr. Howard committed this act and in doing so burned the body and cleaned up the crime scene, which, as an investigator, seems to me to indicate that he acted with malicious intent.”. Thefts from the Howard family's property have recently been reported. Investigators did not specify whether there was a link to the tragedy.

Charged with murder and tampering with evidence, Howard was jailed, his bail set at $20 million.