US Current Events

Father conceals Daughters' Bodies in Box Before Suicide

Knoxville, TN--- a man hid the bodies of his two young daughters in a plastic container in the back seat of his car before killing himself, authorities said Friday.
Richard Howard, 32, apparently shot himself Thursday after a Tennessee Valley Authority police officer approached him as he sat in his car at the Bull Run fossil plant near Oak Ridge.
The officer checked Howard's license tag and found he was wanted on rape charges. When the officer returned he found him slumped over the steering wheel.
He left a handwritten suicide note that assisted authorities in discovering the girls.
"The note that he left is somewhat self-explanatory as to why he committed these crimes," said Bob Denney, an agent for the Tennessee Bureau Of Investigations.
Preliminary examinations do not indicate how Brionna, 3, and Markayla, 2, died. Autopsies are planned
Howard had lived until last year in Clarksville, where he had worked as a bodyguard and a bounty hunter, he told a newspaper for a February article. He then moved back to Oak Ridge with his daughters.

His estranged wife and mother of his daughters, Amanda Walters, remained in Clarksville, authorities said. Walters could not be found and she could not be reached for commenting.
Howard was indicted in November on rape charges stemming from an incident in July with a 15-year-old girl who was a baby sitter, Clarksville police Detective said. He was not arrested because he had already left Clarksville.

posted by scubabri @ 8:13 AM