A lawyer dad says he shot his son with Down syndrome by mistake, but police say the wood and trash pile he allegedly burned him on was already set up

The Texas Attorney General’s Office is set to prosecute Houston attorney Michael C. Howard, 68, who claimed he shot his adult son by mistake. Howard reportedly told investigators he mistook Mark Howard, who had Down syndrome, for an intruder at a lake house near the Toledo Bend Reservoir in 2024, as reported by Law&Crime.

The case moved to the state level after District Attorney Paul Robbins filed a motion to recuse his office. The Attorney General’s Office determined that local staff might be needed as witnesses during the trial, and Sabine and San Augustine counties share the same District Attorney’s office, which raised a high potential for conflicts of interest.

Police reports indicate that Howard contacted the District Attorney’s office the day after the shooting. His conversation with the chief investigator was his first contact with law enforcement about the matter. According to the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office, he said he had accidentally shot his son and called it a horrible accident.

The sheriff’s office says he burned the body afterward

Investigators allege that Howard moved his son’s body using the front loading bucket of a backhoe tractor and took the remains to a remote section of the property. The Sheriff’s Office claimed he placed the body on a wood and trash pile that had been previously set up, then cremated his son.

Investigators said they found the remains on his property while executing a search warrant in Sabine County. The scene was heavy with soot and ash, and the bones appeared to have been burned.

Howard was arrested on Texas murder charges and also faces a separate count of tampering with evidence. He is currently out of jail after posting a $1 million bond.

Howard runs a private law practice in the Heights neighborhood of Houston, handling family law, personal injury, and oil and gas cases. Records show the Board of Disciplinary Appeals suspended him in 1995 after he pleaded no contest to third degree felony theft in Harris County. He received deferred adjudication and one year of probation, and his suspension lasted for the full length of that probation.

District Judge Jim Payne signed the order transferring the case to the Attorney General’s Office, KTRE reported. An affidavit alleges Howard waited about 17 hours before reporting the shooting, washed the scene, and burned the body about 1.5 miles away. The Texas Rangers have completed a review of the death.