Michael Joseph Howell, a 50-year-old white male, was found dead on March 23, 2014, in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Howell, a former sports editor for the Columbia County News-Times, was discovered in a plastic container in the family's storage shed by house guests who were moving a pinball machine. His body was heavily decomposed, and it was determined that he had died from a single shotgun wound to the head.
The investigation revealed that Howell's daughter, Crystal Brooke Howell, was
responsible for his death. On February 24, 2014, Crystal, then 17 years old, shot her father in the head while he was napping. She hid his body in the shed and continued to live in the house, hosting parties and spending her father's money. Crystal even installed a stripper pole in the kitchen and told her friends that her father had committed suicide.
Crystal Howell was arrested on March 23, 2014, in Richmond County, Georgia, after fleeing the state. She was found in possession of her father's Land Rover and a U-Haul trailer filled with her belongings. During the investigation, Crystal admitted to killing her father and was charged with first-degree murder and concealment of death. She pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Haywood County Sheriff's Office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the state crime lab. Detective Scott Robinson and Special Agent Casey Drake played crucial roles in securing Crystal's confession. The motive behind the murder was determined to be Crystal's desire to live on her terms at the expense of her father's life.
