A Texas lawyer, who was at a lake house with his adult son last weekend, allegedly mistook him for an intruder and fatally shot him with a shotgun. Afterward, he cremated his son’s body on a pile of “wood” and “trash,” describing the incident as a “horrible accident,” according to authorities.
Michael C. Howard, 68, from Houston, was at a lake house near the Toledo Bend Reservoir, several hours outside the city, with his son Mark Howard on Sunday when the fatal shooting occurred, which authorities are calling an accidental death, as per a press release from the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office. The release was posted on Facebook by the local Sabine County Reporter newspaper.
Mark Howard, who had Down syndrome, was somewhere on the property when his father allegedly mistook him for an intruder.
“On December 2, 2024, a deputy from the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Michael C. Howard,” the sheriff’s office stated. “Howard told police that he had ‘accidentally’ shot his son.”
After the shooting, Michael Howard reportedly confessed that he took his son’s body and placed it in the front-loading bucket of a backhoe tractor, carrying it to a remote part of the property. There, he allegedly cremated his son’s body.
“Howard placed the body on a wood/trash pile that had already been set up and then ‘cremated’ his son,” the sheriff’s office said. The deputies were informed by Howard that his son’s death was a “horrible accident.” Mark Howard’s remains were found after a search warrant was executed.
“All bones appeared to have been burned, based on charring, and the area where they were found was thick with soot and ash,” the sheriff’s office noted.
Michael Howard was arrested and faces charges of murder and tampering with evidence.
According to the State Bar of Texas, Michael Howard operates a private law practice in Houston’s Heights neighborhood, specializing in ethics-legal malpractice, family law, personal injury litigation, oil, gas, energy resources, and real estate.
In 1995, the Board of Disciplinary Appeals suspended Howard following a no-contest plea to a third-degree felony theft charge in Harris County. He was given deferred adjudication and placed on probation for one year, with his suspension lasting the duration of the probation.
Michael Howard remains in custody with a $20 million bond.
