I can't say what he was going [music] to do. I know what I see and I know what he was going to do. >> This is 48-year-old Kendy Anne Wilkins Howard, a woman who'd spent 30 years building a life with someone she trusted. [music] 58-year-old Daniel Dan Howard, an ex-marine, an ex-state trooper, a man trained to protect. Instead, he became the reason she would never see another sunrise. [music] At 10:46 p.m., 911 received a call from Dan. And with [music] it began the biggest, most elaborate performance of his life. >> 911. What's the address? [cough] [clears throat] >> 911. >> What's the shot? [laughter] >> He wanted it to sound like a tragedy. A man losing his wife. A moment of desperation. A decision that couldn't be undone. But this was no tragedy. This was calculation, betrayal, and murder disguised as grief. >> Central 2307, send in medical. >> No heartbeat. Not seeing anything. So no heartbeat, no nothing. Secure the scene. Don't touch my leg. >> I'm sorry to inform you, but your wife is bastard. >> Oh, god damn it. Oh, I didn't think it was a gunshot. I was downstairs. >> Oh, yeah. >> Yes. >> What do you thought? Did it ever get physical? >> Yes. On January 29th, 2021, something happened at their house in Cini County, Idaho, that made Kendi frightened enough to dial 911. Divorce does not [music] take anything. >> Okay. >> I can't say what he was going to do with me. [music] >> Did it ever become physical? >> I think I I woke up in time, [music] so >> Okay. When you woke up, where was he? What was that? [music] >> Was he yelling? Was he arguing like a >> Okay, so he's always kind of just that calm weird. >> Okay. [music] All right. >> I know what I see. I know what he was going to do. >> Despite feeling unsafe, she didn't press charges. Little did she know that it was the last time she'll ever see them. Once police arrived on the scene, Daniel's first act of the setup began. Oh my god. >> Sir, where is she? >> Upstairs in the bathroom. >> She's upstairs in the bathroom. >> Upstairs in the bathroom. >> Let's go. >> In my pocket. She's in the bathtub. >> Oh, Jesus. I'll do it. Send in medical. >> Yep. Central 2307. Send in medical. >> Nope. No heartbeat. Not seeing anything. >> So, no heartbeat, no nothing. Secure the scene. Don't touch anything. Okay. >> The officers had to brace themselves before they enter the bathroom. Even though this is something they do every day, it's not an easy scene to walk into. Someone shooting themselves in the mouth is messy. Really messy. Blood travels everywhere to the walls, the ceiling, the tub. But the second they stepped foot into the door, they noticed the inconsistency. The bathroom was clean, almost too clean. Officers could see right through the bath water and bubbles. Some blood was there, but not nearly enough. For the scene, there should have been at least one liter of blood. Some of it was even traveling upward against gravity. The body position, however, led to even more questions. Kendy's body was laid out as if someone had positioned it carefully. Strands of her hair were almost placed on her face. Nothing about the scene looked natural. In the bedroom, glass shards were scattered across the floor. Kendy's clothes were thrown around. Downstairs, the dryer was running with 6 minutes left on the timer. According to the detective's notes, for the timer to be at 6 minutes at this point, Daniel would have had to start the dryer while he was still on call with 911, supposedly inconsolable over his wife's death. But who does laundry in the middle of a family tragedy? Better yet, what are they trying to wash away? >> Dan. >> Hey, Dan. I'm Deputy Wheeler. [snorts] I'm I'm sorry to inform you, but your wife is faster. >> No. Oh, damn it. >> Hey, Dan. Is there anyone that we can call for you? >> Anyone that can >> get stupid. >> Oh my god. >> When When is the last time that you saw your wife alive? >> I know this is this is tough. >> How long How long ago? Oh, >> can you recall? >> Oh, [snorts] what time is it? >> Did you Did you call 911 when you when you heard the gunshot? >> No. >> Okay. >> I didn't. Well, I Oh, no. >> Well, help us out with the time frame. All right. >> I didn't think it was a gunshot. I was downstairs maybe going. It sound like something hit the floor or something. I don't know. But there's something not adding up here. As a former Marine, Dan had extensive firearm experience. He even became a firearms instructor. With that training, he should have immediately recognized the sound of a gunshot. >> Oh my god. >> Do you want to do you want me to just come here and and meet you or Oh my god. I just tell him. >> You want Do you want me to let you tell him or or you want me to give him a call? I'll just tell him to come down here. Tell >> somebody just tell him when he gets here. >> Kendi had two adult children, one son that she shared with Dan, Wyatt, and another daughter from a previous relationship, Brooke. [music] Wyatt was Dan's next of kin. >> Tell him I need him here. Okay. You is there some shoes or something I can get for you? >> We want nobody here right now. >> Okay. >> Just wait. >> This this entire property we own it now. >> Not lit legally. >> Yeah. >> Daniel thought he was putting on the perfect show, but the officer saw right through it. >> Yeah. He's upset, but it's not real water works or anything. >> He's freaking out and like gagging. But >> so they swept the home again. every tiny detail documented. The officers already knew that the circumstances didn't point to a planned suicide, but it also didn't match a person just going for a bath. Kendi hadn't even taken any towels with her to the bathroom. The only towels there were the ones you can see on screen right now. The decorative ones Kendi never allowed anyone to use. The truth was hidden in the finer details. >> Different. Yeah, it looks like a 380 Taurus. >> You know, it' be interesting. We don't have Do you have a thermal? >> No. >> I'd like to know the water's temperature. >> It It feels like it might still be a little warm. >> Well, a little warm cuz people don't take warm baths that they take hot baths. So, it' [music] be interesting to know the temp of that water now because that's going to change later. Warm water indicates either Kenny had been in that tub much longer than Dan's timeline allowed or the water had been running and sitting there longer than he claimed. Either way, the clock wasn't agreeing with him. >> That's kind of looks like [music] it's fairly fresh. >> And you got the bubbles and all that stuff in your pictures. >> Yeah, cuz the bubbles are still they're popping right now. [music] Where's the >> It's right right next to right down there. Yeah. I wonder. Well, they'll see [music] seize that phone and see when the last time she used it. Huh. >> It's going to be up to them if they don't touch it. When you're done with photos up [music] here, come up. >> Okay. Almost done. >> You see a spect. The officers noticed how Kendy's bag, glasses, and phone were nowhere near arms reach of the bathtub. If she didn't intend to use her phone or other items in the bath, it didn't make sense for her to bring them into the bathroom in the first place. Kendy's daughter, Brooke, confirmed that her mother took a bath every single night, and during the bath, she was always on her phone texting and doom scrolling. It was just allocated me time. Leaving it far away makes no sense. The only thing that would confirm this was planned by her would be a suicide note, but it was never found at the premises nor on her phone. And while the house was getting documented piece by piece, Dan was starting to get suspiciously anxious. >> This stood out because Dan wasn't just any husband on a bad night. He'd worked law enforcement. He knew exactly how slow a scene like this moves, how long officers stay, and how little information families get in those first hours. The officers kept working anyway, and that's when they saw it. >> And then this is going to be a mandol that we have not. So, take a photo of that. [snorts] >> Kendi was officially filing for divorce. She'd even bought a new home. It had just passed inspection, but she didn't make these plans alone. Kendi had fallen in love with a neighbor who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. That detail mattered because it explained the tension, the timeline, and the panic underneath the suicide story. On the surface, the scene looked right. But as the only other person in the house at the time, Daniel wasn't as in the clear as he'd hoped he would be. The house had too many fingerprints of planning. He sat on the kitchen counter crying and heaving for the next hour, but no tears ever surfaced. It was clear he saw the walls closing in, and it was getting more and more stressful for him. >> [snorts] >> What's the dog's name? [music] >> Scout. >> Scout. Poor dog. [sighs and gasps] >> Once the lead detective got there, it was time for Daniel to start talking. And this is where people usually step into their own trap. They talk too much or they forget what they already said. >> So, [snorts] what happened tonight? Please look. >> You got my condolences. This is that's just a bad night. I don't wish on anybody. So, what uh what was going on tonight? >> I [music] got marital problems. >> Mhm. Like is this a divorce has already been decided or is it >> Oh, it's open for discussion about her. Yeah. [snorts] >> She wants a divorce one [music] day, she doesn't the next. [snorts] So, she brought home divorce papers, just preliminary [music] ones. >> What was that? I don't know. Was this night that got called out here? >> I don't know if she got him then. >> That earlier police call should have been the first thing out of his mouth. Instead, he kept it hidden. Because once Kenny was gone, Dan didn't just have grief on his side. He had control. One storyteller, no one alive to correct him. When you want the divorce long time I work remote this group hard what are you doing these days >> running equipment [snorts] >> what are you doing that for two on two off type thing >> three on three >> So how long you been home this last time >> since uh Thursday night was that when we got out here. >> Oh, [sighs] didn't she pick you up? You want [snorts] to curly or something? >> Yeah. Yeah. Came here. You came. >> Okay. Must have been early that morning or something. >> Was she moving out then? >> No, she wasn't. I thought the guys come out here. She was packing her stuff to leave or something. >> She's want to get away overnight. Well, yeah. We had a problem with well we're of course discussing divorce and u [snorts] she got upset she wanted to go and uh she's acting really weird of course who doesn't like that situation I guess anyway she wanted to stand by or something I don't know what she called her something like that they called the sheriff to stand by she packed the bag anyway Okay. >> Did she leave that night? >> Yeah. >> When did she go? >> She went down. When did she come back? >> Saturday. Is she she working right now? >> Yeah. >> Did she work today? >> Yeah. [snorts] Yeah. I think so. Um tonight. Uh let's see. Okay. So, I filled up the course papers. Let's see. And then I uh I sell her stuff and then I got her 50/50. >> Together, Dan and Kendi owned $2 million in assets. Kendi was set to take $1 million for herself. But according to Daniel, things weren't set in stone yet. [laughter] She She didn't want She just wanted us to go through one lawyer again. make it very long and fast. I said, "Okay." And I said, "I already filled these out and she was filled them out." [snorts] Like, she didn't want me to fill them out, but she gave them to me. And uh so I split the stuff. We agreed. And then one of them was she was buying a [snorts] house and she wanted to split this house and I said, "Okay, we're going to split that house, too." Oh, she went offer she got pissed off. You guys own the house? >> No, she's buying it because she >> What was the plan there? >> She was going to move down there eventually once this was done. Um and uh so she wanted to sell this place, too. [snorts] uh well afraid to liquidate everything and uh [snorts] she uh she didn't like that idea because [snorts] I guess everything's joint property. I just wish I had got an attorney but they're taking [snorts] you guys hire an attorney at all. >> She got papers from what? [music] >> No, I I have no clue. But she gave the papers to me. So I pulled out uh went through a few days of she said she didn't know if that's what she wanted. [snorts] She'd be crying saying, [music] you know, and then uh why did you want the divorce? I just grew apart, I guess. >> What was that one thing she always said to you? The one complaint she had. >> Which one? >> I don't know. That's all I'm asking you. >> What though? >> What's the big thing? >> I wish I knew. >> I don't know what the big thing is. I guess I I don't do enough stuff with her. Like to do the things she likes to do. And uh so there you go. >> Note how from this point on, anytime the detectives asked Daniel about the shooting, he would deflect. >> Was that where you were? Were you downstairs when this happened? >> Yeah. in the basement. [snorts] >> I was down there watching TV, getting the fire going. It was okay. And it and then and it wasn't and she she didn't she didn't like the idea of uh [music] liquidating the house down there cuz you know, I told her, "Well, we got a house down there. We got a house here." So, [music] was that discussion tonight or was that previous? >> Tonight. Okay. Where did the gun come from? [music] Oh. >> [snorts] [sighs] >> I bought that for years ago [music] and uh [music] I can't think straight. Um I had my safe till uh [music] Sunday and that's we had the you know most of the list done. We finished it tonight. But nonetheless, she's gonna let me have my safe and guns. You know, she picked something. I picked something. One of the things she wanted was her gun. So, we got her gun. Where? What was that? >> I think I just put on the counter here. >> Was it loaded? >> Where's your safe man? >> It's on the one over here. It was loaded. Yeah. >> The one in the chamber. >> Uh, not sure about that. >> Okay. What was it? >> It's a I think it's a 226 the Ruger Ruger [snorts] 3. >> Okay. >> Yeah. No. >> Did you teach her how to shoot? >> Yeah, she shot it. >> So then what happened? So you're [clears throat] downstairs doing your paperwork? >> Yeah. So I gave her the gun. >> And was that tonight they gave her the gun or did you Sunday? >> Sunday. So, um, Monday I went down to my dad's Lucille and come back today. Just take a trip, picked up my [music] 500. >> No, we just drove. No, it's 4-hour drive. >> Daniel had taken Kendy's brother on this trip with him. And during the drive, he got confirmation from him that she was in fact seeing another man. >> Spent the night, helped him out. He just moved up there. Then we come back and we got back this afternoon to around and when she got home, you know, she picked up something from the deli and went down there and finalized it and she flipped when she realized that the house has to be liquidated too. And uh she went upstairs and she always takes a bath before bed. So, I heard the bathroom in and uh I heard something hit the floor, I guess. Sound like a shot. I didn't think it was a shot. And uh down there watching TV, drank a beer, looked at my list, trying to think, you know, I don't know. I guess I lost track of time, but I come upstairs. You were going upstairs to do what? >> Check on her. I heard anything. Was the bathroom door open or shut? >> No, shut the thing. >> Does she normally take the bath in that room and not the one out the master? >> Yes. >> She's kind of made that hers. >> Okay. >> And she takes one [music] >> every night. >> Every night before bed. And is she sleeping in the master bedroom? Are you guys sharing a bed right now? >> Yeah, [music] that's the thing. >> What time she usually go to bed? at Barry's since we've been trying to work this out. Uh, it's [music] probably been later. Um, I guess she goes around here 9:30 or something. She didn't have check her pulse. Where did you check her pulse? [music] >> Both sides of her neck. I checked her both sides. Both sides of her cro. And she was she was cold. And uh I wasn't completely sure that's 380 in the water. But wish you would have asked for that. >> This is when he mentioned that Kendi had threatened suicide before. It came out at the exact moment it was useful to the narrative. >> You know [snorts] downstairs here is when we had our first problems. She was upstairs with that gun. They're having [music] problems. I told her, I said, "I have to come work out." She had under her hand. She put up her head. She freaked me. And uh [music] I thought for sure, here we go. And uh dropped the gun, shot through the floor. I shot through the floor and hit the tile by the wood stove. And so I repaired some things downstairs. I took that away. >> Same. Same. And uh [snorts] and uh you know upstairs there's carpet but you know you can see I didn't remember that I just read there drywall downstairs. So probably of course it is. [snorts] And then uh one other time and then after that time I I was safe. >> What happened second time? >> Same thing. She took it out shoot herself. two and a half, three years ago. >> What was that? >> God damn it. I don't even remember that [snorts] asked her to get help. She said she was [snorts] >> when she had a hard time believing that >> when she had the gun before it was locked up. Where'd she Where'd she keep it at? Um, she had it in her nightstand for a while, but uh [snorts] I think uh I mean I encouraged her to keep it in her purse. You know, she commutes to work for protection. Sure. >> Dan was the only witness to the alleged event just like he was here. >> Was it dark? Was it light? >> No, it was it was afternoon light afternoon. >> And and was she home or >> 3 or something like that? No, she didn't get off till 4:30 or something. and uh she text me she's getting her nails done. >> People who are about to commit suicide don't normally get their nails done first >> when she called me and what was I trying to talk to her about that oh has one more time she'd be home so we finished the paper and uh then I asked her to um fix stuff up in the deli. >> That's what he told her but in reality he was trying to plan the perfect murder. The detectives saw right through him, but they couldn't let him know that >> you're not hearing me. I want the house and to change. >> Okay. >> I fell out of love. That breaks my heart. I'm hurting you. >> Yeah. Then she'll come back. Well, I'm not sure if I have the divorce. What was she talking about the hotel? When she think you lied about the hotel. >> Oh, she think I stayed two days at the motel or something. with the but I was working cuz like the night the night night before she's telling me or two nights before she's telling me yeah we can change and make it better. So yeah, we're going back and forth. >> She said you can't move on and you you responder let's talk future not negative past or things we're going to argue about >> and that's all today negative past. Yeah, she still thinks I love you. Whatever. >> Something we had an affair. >> No. >> Who did you think we had an affair with? >> She didn't say some girl up in Alaska. >> See, she's so concerned about she wants a divorce and then she'll go. She's so concerned about that and come back and well, let's wait. Let's work it out. I couldn't imagine you with anybody else. >> Okay. So she [snorts] she saying she knew that that you lied and that you stayed in a with a female. >> Nope, that wasn't the case. >> Stay at a hotel there. She called the credit card company. >> Yeah. And there's no hotel uh charge. >> No kidding. I showed her my flight coming in [clears throat] my mileage plan. I showed up going from and then uh I mean >> so is this what the argument was about at at Curies then when you when you got home and she said I knew you lied to me at Curley about it. >> Well that was amongst a lot of stuff that we talked about but we we talked we talked uh we talked at night she's crying the whole time. I I I didn't I just don't didn't understand what you thought. Did it ever get physical? >> No. So, I kind of give her these encouraging paragraphs because we're beating a dead dog here. I I didn't >> She's She's just hammering you about having an affair. >> Yeah. And whatever. No matter what I tell her and show her, you know, that's not the case. And she >> So, you were you were seeing an attorney? >> No. Dan was presenting this as a possible reason for her to want to take her own life, that she was so distraught at the thought of being replaced that she couldn't imagine living anymore. He kept steering it back to emotion because emotion is harder to measure than evidence, but the cops weren't buying it. I >> shot my 40 today, but I showered. I mean, okay. When was that? 3:30 or so. [music] >> Okay. Here on the property or >> Yeah. Okay. Where at? >> By the tree over there. I put it [music] together. Was more or less a function check, but I popped off a few records. [snorts] >> But I put it away, but I showered since then. I don't know. >> Anyway, no, [music] there shouldn't be. >> Okay. Okay. >> And are these the same clothes that you were wearing earlier? [music] >> Yes. >> When you were downstairs? >> Yes. You didn't change or you weren't wearing something [music] different? No. >> The detectives took a break and when they returned, Dan had put a jacket on. He purposefully kept one hand inside his pocket. He was trying to wipe any potential gunshot residue off of his hands. And that's when things took another turn. While the detectives on scene were convinced that Daniel was guilty, apart from him being the only person in the house, there was no proof against him. The gun didn't have his DNA, only Kendy's and an unidentifiable man's. That gap in the evidence was exactly what he needed. Worse, the official autopsy report that night confirmed that Kendi died from the gunshot wound. Her death was ruled a suicide, and that ruling gave Dan time. It wasn't until April 21st, 2023, more than 2 years after Kendy's death, that detectives were finally able to arrest Daniel. But Dan didn't go down that easily. He got out on bail and wore an ankle monitor awaiting trial. And the way he acted with the freedom told its own story. In this time, he began selling all of Kendy's things, even going as far as to refuse Brooke access to them. Control didn't stop after his wife's death. On April 30th, 2021, 2 months [music] after my mom's death, she would have turned 49 years old. Dan chose to have a yard sale that day. I showed up with money to see everything my mom loved spread out on their driveway. There were items my daughter and I had stored at their house for also for sale. I attempted to buy anything that I could keep as a reminder of my mother. Glass chickens were meaningful to my daughter as my mom has always told her they would be hers when she died. I had made previous attempts to get these and didn't receive a response. These were sold at this yard sale. When I arrived, Dan called 911 and had me tresp trespassed from the home I grew up in. This was clearly out of malice. It is one of the last things he could do without physically hurting me. This is my punishment for not falling in line and daring to question Dan. >> He couldn't control Brooke but somehow managed to convince Wyatt to go against his halfs sister in this moment. >> Okay, so 41D. Sir, what are we looking at? >> Uh, you're looking at the antique cabinet of glass chickens. >> Is that just one cabinet? >> Yes, sir. >> All right. And that would be the collection that Candy amassed over a number of years of glass chickens. Yes, sir. >> Something that was very important to her, >> I would say. So, if she collects that much cheese, >> and this is the glass chickens your dad made sure would not go to Brook or >> objection. >> Is that right? >> Let's take a look at the next one. And again, if you wouldn't mind, sir, tell us what that's a photograph of. >> Uh, it's a photograph of the yard. Okay. And the objects that are out there, would that include your mom's clothing and possessions? >> I believe it be possessions. I don't know if there's clothing or not out there. >> That had all been sold previously. >> I think it was afterward. >> So just her kind of like knickknacks and things like that, >> I believe. So yeah. >> And those were all sold to someone other than family that day. >> Um I believe so. Yes. >> Now, when Brooke tried to stop that, did you get violent with her? >> Uh, yes. She got in my face. I believe we were both emotional at the time. Yes. >> What What did you do? >> I don't think it got violent, I would say. >> What do you did you do to her? >> I pushed her back beforehand. >> Even with one of the children on his side, when the trial began, Dan panicked and took a risk. He tried to flee. >> The latest development. Howard was arrested Friday night at Spokane International Airport while on property bond. His bond agreements included [music] an 11 p.m. curfew as well as not being within 2 mi of an airport. >> He claimed he was just trying to help a friend return a rental car. But the detectives were certain that he was trying to ditch the ankle monitor and get away. He was officially being charged for Kendy's murder. That came after prosecutors brought in Dr. Dr. Jennifer Nara, an independent forensic pathologist, to re-examine the original autopsy. After reviewing the photos, x-rays, and reports, she determined that Kendi did not die from the gunshot wound. You can see here, this is the right knee. There's [music] some bruises here on the right knee area and the front of the right lower leg. Some faint brues here on the inside of the left thigh. 26 [music] looks like the outside of the wrist. I [clears throat] can't tell which left or right, but there's bruising here [music] and here. Look at some of these injuries um in closeup. What would your opinion be of the cause of some of these [music] injuries? The injuries we saw were called contusions or bruises on [music] her arms and legs. And that's from could be from a variety of different reasons whether [music] something struck a leg or she bumped her leg against something. >> In your independent opinion, [music] are these injuries consistent with occurring before death? The bruises that we saw, they all had a pretty much like a blue purple hue to them. They looked [music] pretty recent. They could have occurred that day. Could have been the day before. We're looking at one of the left hands closeup of her left thumb. And there's a superficial cut here on the left thumb next to her point finger. Look at the inside of her right forearm up here. [music] You see some discoloration. It kind of looks like orange peachy discoloration here on the inside of the right forearm. And that was also depicted in 20 arm. Yes. So this is a closeup of photo showing this burn here on the inside of her right forearm. We look here at her left jaw area. You can see this area of like pinkish purple discoloration. [snorts] There is a bru area. This is an area of bruising here on the left jaw, upper neck area. Point B, there's looking at the left side of her face. You can see a little bit of that bruising here on her left jaw. You can see also some bruising on the left side of her nose. >> Dr. Nara did more than note the various injuries Kendi had. She pointed out that the trajectory wasn't consistent with a common suicide. The physical path told a different story. >> It's not it doesn't have a direct association but in the literature and also from experience we see a down trajectory more often in non-suicides. And when you say not suicides, do you mean homicides? >> Homicide. Yes. >> What about an upward trajectory? >> So in general, suicide intraoral gcha wounds the majority of them are in upward direction. Some of them go in um a horizontal direction or parallel to the horizontal plane. And in the literature, they did document maybe like one or couple cases where it does go in a downward, but the vast majority of suicide cases go in an upward [music] direction. Kendy's bullet went downwards. Another doctor called by the state, Dr. Bill Smok, also pointed to injuries that didn't fit the suicide story. A particular one stood out to him on the X-ray, a detail that made the suicide explanation harder to hold. >> And so, can you see an injury there? >> Yes. She has what's called a communated fracture, which is a fancy word for she's got multiple pieces of jaw broken from here [music] to here. It's a piece of jaw in this area broken up. >> Would that broken jaw be consistent with workforce trauma? >> Absolutely. Some force from the outside while she was still alive created that injury. And the reason we know it's happened while she was still alive and her heart's beating when we see all the bruising that goes from here down her jaw and then onto her neck. And if you're dead, [clears throat] you don't bruise. In order to bruise, your heart has to be pumping blood to that part of your body. So you'll see in later photos all the blood that is [music] actually here and going down. >> Dr. Naro concluded Kendi died from strangulation, specifically a corroded restraint that cuts off blood flow to the brain, something Dan knew how to do as a former Marine. By the time the gun was fired, her heart was no longer pumping, which explained why the blood on the scene didn't match a fatal gunshot. The gunshot was not the cause of death. The injuries to Kendy's neck and jaw pointed to a violent struggle beforehand, and for the first time, investigators had a cause of death that lined up with the bathroom. The blood and the timeline they'd been fighting with for years. After a 10-day trial, it was time for Dan to find out if he staged the crime well enough to actually get away with it. in the district court of the first judicial district of the state of Idaho in and for the county of Coupney, state of Idaho verse Daniel C. Howard. We the jury duly impanled and sworn to the above entitled action for our verdict unanimously answer the question submitted to us as follows. Count one, is the defendant Daniel C. Howard guilty or not guilty of domestic battery? Guilty. Count two. Is the defendant Daniel C. Howard guilty or not guilty of murder in the first degree? Not guilty. Is the defendant Daniel Howard guilty or not guilty of seconddegree murder? Guilty. >> Daniel got a chance to speak right before his sentencing. And even at that point, he tried to play off as innocent. >> I'm not that imposter. I assure you that uh people were trained to be K and I had [clears throat] 28 years together and uh raised a family and had mostly a good marriage and a good life. I worked away from home all the time and I was gone and and that was probably the gist of most of my problems. I was gone but I'm not that and I couldn't be here before the court way before. It was not my intention to anger the court or disrespect the process that I used to believe in and work for. But your honor is about sentence in his family prison and I love my wife and I miss her and I love my love Jamie and my and my stepdaughter Brooke who I raised in and her daughter Kennley that I help raise for five years when we took him into our our house and I miss them very much do miss words cannot describe that I stand before you shall man I don't even have a sh my wife took her life my will to live went significantly and when the jury found me guilty of the times I didn't want down to I appreciate the court taking in consideration my service to the country as a marine with honorable honorable discharge to the state of Idaho for over 20 years which I was decorated multiple times for saving lives not taking for service to the community through coaching football and baseball for many years and being a 4 leader for many years. We provided a thousand animals to kids in this community to take to the fair show. We were very involved. I I volunteered uh to help the seniors in the community north of me. Every time there was a windstorm, I cut trees from the driveway from around the house. I volunteered a lot. And uh to the frustration of my wife sometimes cuz I've gone even more away from home. I didn't ask those people to write letters into the court because I didn't want to burden them. So that's why I'm telling you that now. I've successfully completed probation before like Mr. Johnson said and I can successfully complete probation for all future. I just want to reiterate that uh I still love Kim side of the family J Brian. I still love my stepdaughter. I miss him very much. I love my side of the family. My son Ria, my dad John, my sister D. I will miss them very much. The same man who did all those wonderful things also held his wife in a corroded hold until she died. I could tell you all about that, but the judge does it better. What the jury found, Mr. Howard, is that you murdered your wife. [music] Why they found it a secondderee murder versus first degree, I'm not there in the jury room, but they didn't find beyond a reasonable doubt the one element of premeditation. But there's there's no doubt that they found that you they found specifically it was part of [music] the charging documents and part of the jury instructions that you esphyxiated your wife, that you strangled her, uh that you killed your wife. And so we we don't know exactly what happened that night, [snorts] how she uh obtained the the bruising, the burn, the broken jaw. and your attorney disputes the state's version of how she got those injuries. But what we know um beyond reasonable doubt is that you strangled your wife, you murdered her, and then you staged her naked body in the bathtub, shot her through the mouth, [music] and tried to pass this off as a suicide. And you know, often in these and as I think about it, when you killed your wife, you didn't just when you killed Candy, you didn't just kill your wife. You killed a mother. You killed a grandmother. You killed a [music] sister. You killed a daughter. You killed a coworker. Um, you killed somebody who brought a lot of life and light to those around her and those she touched. And you snuffed that out because of your own pride, greed, and anger. This was a without the state proving necessarily and they don't have to without them proving exactly how she received the the what they describe as this beating without them proving exactly how she ended up with a body so badly bruised [music] with a broken jaw with a burned arm. We don't have to know the answers to all those other [music] things to understand this was a heinous, outrageous murder. From from my view of the evidence and from what came out, despite your efforts at the time to appear emotional and sad and distraught, it's it's clear to me that you're a remorseless killer. I don't say that lightly at all because we don't like to think that anybody would be [music] like that. You're not sorry. And I don't The way you treated her family, the way you treated your own family, your own stepdaughter, your granddaughter, [music] the cold and callous contempt after the murder. It it belies your argument [music] to me today that you love these people and that you're sorry. As as Brooke indicated, you never even talked to her about this after the fact. your behavior towards her was contemptuous and unkind and and I'm not sentencing you for that. There were a lot of there was a lot of stuff that came in at the trial as to how you treated people after the fact and how you treated your stepdaughter after the fact and and [music] not allowing your granddaughter to get items that were meaningful and significant. But that's not why you're being sentenced today. I I'm just that but that does point to the lack of remorse um the lack of caring and just the callous disregard uh that you had for Kendi and how her death affected those around her. And so I do find that a fixed life sentence is appropriate for the count of murder in the second degree. On the domestic violence charge I'll impose 10year sentence and running concurrent. I didn't even speak about that. I mean, really, I'm I'm not I don't mean to give that charge short shrift. Um, the jury found that you were violent and abusive to your wife as well. It's just that frankly this the the killing alone subsumes it all for [music] in in my view. And so I'm running that uh the domestic violence charge of 10 years over in concurrent uh with your life sentence.