Rastko Starcevic, a 37-year-old White male remembered as an incredible man who made life fun and adventurous, was killed in his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home in the winter of 2023. He had been living in a residence in the 11000 block of San Bernardino Drive NE with his 65-year-old mother and her husband, 88-year-old William Howell.
On the night of December 20, 2023, at approximately 10:00 p.m., deputies with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office found Starcevic's mother in the middle of
an intersection, covered in blood and suffering from lacerations on her arms. She guided them to the nearby home, where they discovered her son deceased from an apparent gunshot wound to the chest. Deputies then located Howell locked inside a vehicle in the garage; he was also covered in blood and had facial injuries.
Investigators learned that the home environment had become tense. Starcevic's mother told deputies that Howell was jealous and upset because she and her son were spending a lot of time together. On the night of the incident, this resentment led to a heated dispute. Howell allegedly accused his stepson of being gay before retrieving a small black revolver and shooting Starcevic twice. He then attacked his wife, choking her. She managed to fight back by gouging his eyes before escaping through a window to get help.
Both Howell and Starcevic's mother were transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital for their injuries. Howell was detained at the hospital as the primary suspect. When interviewed, he claimed to have no memory of what had happened. On December 27, 2023, authorities charged William Pierce Howell with an open count of murder and aggravated battery. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center the next day. A judge granted a motion from prosecutors to keep Howell detained until his trial, citing him as a danger to the community.
The case did not proceed to trial. In December 2024, a judge found William Howell was not competent to stand trial and ordered him to be committed to the Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas. A year later, in December 2025, Howell died in custody at the University of New Mexico Hospital, closing the case before he could face a jury.
