On February 12, 2025, 71-year-old Joyce E. Austin, a White female, was tragically killed in her Lenexa, Kansas, home in what police have described as a double homicide. The authorities were first alerted to the incident after a man, later identified as 34-year-old Luke Howard, walked into a Walgreens in Liberty, Missouri, with blood on his clothes and stated he needed to turn himself in to the police.
Upon responding to a welfare check at the residence on West 90th Street, officers
discovered the bodies of Joyce Austin and 63-year-old Valerie A. Howard. Both women were found to have died from gunshot wounds. Joyce was discovered on the living room couch. The subsequent investigation revealed that Valerie Howard was the mother of the suspect, Luke Howard, and that Joyce Austin was his aunt. The two women, who were former sisters-in-law, were living together at the time of their deaths.
Court documents indicate a history of domestic disturbances at the home in the days leading up to the homicides. Police had been called to the residence on multiple occasions for altercations involving Luke Howard. Joyce Austin had reportedly expressed fear of her nephew due to his erratic behavior, which she attributed to bipolar disorder. The conflict escalated when Joyce served her nephew with a 30-day eviction notice.
Following his confession to law enforcement, Luke Howard was taken into custody and has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He allegedly admitted to shooting his aunt because she was evicting him, and to also shooting his mother. Authorities have stated that the killings appeared to be intentional and premeditated.
