LAMW: Murder Suspect Kenneth Howell

Lake Los Angeles - Somewhere in California, a man is on the run after allegedly murdering his wife and then raping his teenage stepdaughter right next to her body.

Tony Valdez reports on one of the most troubling crimes ever featured on LA's Most Wanted.

If the criminal justice system had worked a little differently, Kenneth David Howell might be sitting in a prison somewhere in California right now... and Tammy Lynn would probably never have made what detectives say was the fatal decision to marry him.

She did though... and Kenneth and Tammy Lynn Howell, together with her children, settled down in Lake Los Angeles, where the dry earth blows in stark contrast to what developers had planned for this part of the Antelope Valley back in the 1960s.

They lived on 176th Street East where everything changed forever on Monday, August 24, 2009.

Sgt. Kenneth Clark, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept.
"The son told me that they went to a car dealership. Mom and Dad were happy. They left and were gone for a couple of hours. They came back and they were waiting for a response. They went back a second time to the car dealership. When they came back, they did not come back with a car, and they were arguing. Apparently, the deal had fallen through and they started arguing over money."

The argument moved to their bedroom and continued until sometime around 11:30 that night. That's when things quieted down.

Sgt. Kenneth Clark, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept.
"The 14-year old son, in the morning, gets up early and goes and tries to open the bedroom door. The father yells from the inside 'I'm in here.' We found out later the the stepfather had wedged a chair up against the door to keep him from coming in."

A few hours later Howell left for work. That's when the 14-year old stepson finally discovered what had happened in the bedroom a few hours earlier.

Sgt. Kenneth Clark, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept.
"Kenneth David Howell, the stepfather of the kids here and the husband of Tammy, bound her hands behind her back, put a plastic bag over her head and duct taped it shut. Basically asphyxiated her. He covered her body up in bed and left her there all night long."

Investigators believe that Howell then went to the room where his 13-year old stepdaughter was asleep that night and brought her back to his bedroom.

Sgt. Kenneth Clark, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept.
"He lay between the dead mother and the step daughter and ultimately, unfortunately, sexually assaulted the stepdaughter. After the sexual assault, they remained in the room for the rest of this night."

If you where Howell is hiding and possibly working as a plumber, call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 as soon as you can.

Time is important because detectives believe that before he married Tammy Lynn, Howell was arrested in 1987 for choking his girl friend to death in Fresno.

Sgt. Kenneth Clark, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept.
"The District Attorney, took the case and elected not to prosecute pending further investigation."

Now, 22 years later, that murder case is finally under investigation again.

Howell's friends and family know he's wanted for murder, but they probably don't know that detectives believe he raped his 13-year old stepdaughter.

If you can help bring him to justice, call the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. It's staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


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