A Houston-based attorney who allegedly claimed to have mistaken his adult son for an intruder , subsequently shooting him with a shotgun and disposing of his body on a pile of wood and trash , is set to face prosecution by the Texas Attorney General’s Office, according to reports.
Michael C. Howard, who was 68 years of age at the time of the 2024 incident, was present at a lake house located near the Toledo Bend Reservoir, several hours outside of Houston, alongside his son Mark Howard when the shooting allegedly took place. The Sabine County Sheriff’s Office characterized the incident as having occurred “accidentally,” according to an official press release later published by the local Sabine County Reporter newspaper via Facebook.
Local prosecutors informed ABC affiliate KTRE that the case was transferred to the Attorney General’s Office following a motion filed by San Augustine County District Attorney Paul Robbins, who sought to recuse his office from the proceedings. That decision followed an opinion issued by the AG’s office indicating that members of the local prosecutors’ staff could potentially be called as necessary witnesses at trial, as reported by KTRE.
Authorities further allege that Michael Howard contacted the District Attorney’s office the day following his son’s death and engaged in a detailed conversation with its chief investigator , a call that, according to police, constituted his first communication with law enforcement.
Mark Howard, who lived with Down syndrome, was present on his father’s property in Sabine County at the time Michael Howard allegedly mistook him for an intruder. It is worth noting that Sabine and San Augustine counties share the same District Attorney’s office.
“On December 2, 2024, a Deputy from the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office was contacted via public service by Michael C Howard,” the sheriff’s office stated in its official press release. “Howard advised [to police] that he had ‘accidentally’ shot his own son.”
Michael Howard allegedly admitted that following the shooting, he transported his son’s body by placing it “in the front-loading bucket of a backhoe tractor and carried it to a remote area on his property.”
Authorities confirmed that the cremation of the body occurred at that location.
“[Michael Howard] placed the body on a wood/trash pile, which had been previously set up and then ‘cremated’ his son,” the sheriff’s office stated, noting that Howard described his son’s death to responding deputies as a “horrible accident.” Investigators subsequently recovered Mark Howard’s remains during the execution of a search warrant.
“All bones appeared to have been burned based on charring and the area they were found in, was heavy with soot and ash,” the sheriff’s office confirmed.
Michael Howard was formally arrested and charged with murder as well as tampering with evidence.
According to the State Bar of Texas website, the Houston-based attorney operates a private practice in the Heights neighborhood, with areas of specialization that include ethics and legal malpractice, family law, personal injury litigation, oil, gas and energy resources, and real estate.
Public records indicate that in 1995, the Board of Disciplinary Appeals suspended Michael Howard following his no contest plea to a charge of third-degree felony theft in Harris County. He was granted deferred adjudication and sentenced to one year of probation, with his law license suspension remaining in effect for the duration of that probationary period, according to board officials.
Michael Howard has since been released from custody on a bond of one million dollars.
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