Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 12.23.24 | Man 'Accidentally' Shoots Disabled Son, Cremates Body

Episode Date: December 23, 2024

Lawyer claims he shot his disabled 20-year-old son in a terrible accident....then cleaned up the crime scene and cremated his body. Clothing store owner takes inspiration from shoplifter.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Michael Howard leads police to a burn pile on his Hemp Hill, Texas property, informing them he cremated his 20-year-old son with Down syndrome after shooting him in a, quote, horrible accident. He claims he mistook his son, Mark Howard, as a home intruder and shot him, then used a backhoe to move his body to the burn pile two miles away. Michael Howard also cleaned up the blood at the site of the shooting, then waited 17 hours to report his son's death.

Nancy, Sabine County Sheriff's Deputy J.P. McDonough says investigators found charred body parts and bones in the burn pile. While Howard claims he cremated his son in accordance with what he felt Mark would have wanted, investigators took Howard's extreme lengths to clean the crime scene and dispose of Mark's body, indicative of nefarious intent. Mark Howard was described as high-functioning and worked regularly. Michael Howard, 68, charged with murder and tampering with evidence. Jared Engle, the owner of a Venice Beach clothing store, Vardigan, is disgusted when he reviews surveillance footage and realizes a new customer shoplifted. The suspect, a balding man with a mustache and a blue jacket, clearly snatches a sweatshirt and a second item when he

exits the store. Instead of reporting the theft, Engle decides to take it as inspiration and creates a new clothing line, Wanted, featuring a caricature of the thief. While the thief has not yet been identified, he's a suspect in several other Venice Beach robberies and LAPD is hunting him down. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. A Michigan judge has denied a request from the Oxford High School shooter to withdraw his guilty plea to 24 charges, including terrorism and first-degree murder. Ethan Crumbly, now 18, admitted to killing four students and wounding several others during the 2021 shooting. His attorneys argued

that his mental health and age at the time, just 16, affected his decision to waive a trial. However, Oakland County Judge Kwame Rau ruled the plea was made voluntarily and upheld Crumbly's life sentence. The shooting unfolded just hours after school staff discovered violent drawings and alarming phrases on Crumbly's math assignment. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbly, were summoned to the school but declined to take him home, and no one checked his backpack, which contained the weapon used in the attack. The Crumblys were later convicted of involuntary manslaughter for making the gun accessible and ignoring warning signs of their son's mental health struggles. They are serving 10-year prison sentences, marking the first time U.S. parents were held

criminally responsible for a school shooting carried out by their child. At this hour, we're learning new details about a violent incident at the federal courthouse in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, involving a man with a troubling criminal history. We bring in Sydney Sumner of Crime Online for details. Authorities say 56-year-old Joseph Camino, who was shot and wounded during an attempted attack on security guards on December 16th, had been released on parole just

seven months ago after serving more than three decades in prison for third-degree murder. Camino now faces federal charges, including assault of a federal officer and weapons offenses, which carry a combined maximum sentence of 27 years. The U.S. Marshals Service reports that Camino is in stable condition at a local hospital. Fortunately, no security personnel were injured in the attack. During his 35 years in state prison, Camino filed multiple federal civil rights complaints related to his incarceration, according to an FBI affidavit. After his parole, he had been living in a halfway house near Pittsburgh. Camino's criminal history includes a guilty plea in the 1988 murder of 90-year-old Ann Duncan, who was killed during a burglary at her home in Homer City. Prosecutors said Camino

testified against an accomplice in that case, leading to the other man's life sentence for Duncan's fatal beating. This case underscores ongoing concerns about re-entry challenges for individuals with violent criminal histories and the potential risks they pose. Thanks, John. When Mark Gasso doesn't show up for work, a close friend and co-worker heads to his Southbury, Connecticut home. The friend finds the door unlocked, TV on, shower running, cell phone wallet inside, but no Mark. The friend spoke with Mark two days earlier, the same day Mark called 911, claiming a woman was in his home. When police arrived, he was alone. He admitted he takes muscle relaxers for an old injury and could have been confused. Other than a small red stain on his

mattress, no leads. Southbury police called Mark's home a crime scene, but won't provide more details. Mark Gasso, 5'11", 185 pounds, bald, gray facial hair, hazel eyes, walks with a slight limp. If you have info on Mark Gasso, contact Southbury Connecticut PD 203-264-5912. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. And please, won't you join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories. With this crime alert, I'm Acie Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.