Texas Man Claims He Shot His Son After Mistaking Him for Intruder, Later Burns His Body

Texas Man Claims He Shot His Son After Mistaking Him for Intruder, Later Burns His Body
Michael C. Howard in a file photo. Sabine County Sheriff's Office via AP
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HOUSTON—A father has been charged with fatally shooting his adult son with Down syndrome at a home in East Texas after claiming he had mistaken him for an intruder and then later burning his body in what authorities on Thursday described as a “bizarre crime.”

Michael C. Howard, 68, who is an attorney in Houston, told investigators he was at a home he owns in Sabine County on Sunday evening when he accidentally killed his 20-year-old son, Mark Randall Howard, with a shotgun, Sabine County Sheriff’s Office Deputy J.P. MacDonough said at a news conference.