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Thread: Brandon B. Howell Sentenced to LWOP in 2014 MO Quintuple Slaying

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    Brandon B. Howell Sentenced to LWOP in 2014 MO Quintuple Slaying


    Darrel Hurst, 68, and Lorene Hurst, 88


    Susan Choucran, 69


    Ann and George Taylor




    South KC murder spree could bring death penalty

    By TONY RIZZO
    The Kansas City Star

    “Help at address, shotgun.”

    That furtive telephoned plea for help on Tuesday afternoon summoned Kansas City police to a scene of carnage where they found three people shot dead and two others severely beaten.

    But on Wednesday, barely 24 hours and an “all-hands-on-deck” police investigation later, authorities announced that they had charged a 34-year-old former convict in the crime.

    Brandon B. Howell, acquitted five years ago in the killings of two teenagers, now faces a potential death sentence for Tuesday’s spasm of violence against three separate families in a quiet south Kansas City cul-de-sac.

    “All punishments are on the table,” Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in announcing charges at a Wednesday afternoon news conference. She vowed to seek justice for the families of the slaying victims: Susan Choucroun, 69; Lorene Hurst, 88; and her son, Darrel Hurst, 63.

    Another couple living on the same block, George and Anna Taylor, were found beaten inside their home, and on Wednesday authorities said they were in the hospital “fighting for their lives.”

    Howell was charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with three counts of first-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action, two counts of first-degree assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

    Baker said Howell was being held without bond.

    He was arrested late Tuesday night while walking along Interstate 29 near Northwest 72nd Street, about one mile from where a vehicle stolen from the scene of the killings was found abandoned Tuesday afternoon. According to court documents, Howell had a 12-gauge shotgun concealed in a pants leg when he was arrested.

    Kansas City Deputy Police Chief Randy Hopkins said Wednesday that a tip from the public led officers to Howell.

    Despite the charges, officials said there was much more investigation to be done. It was still unclear how Howell got to the cul-de-sac area and exactly how the crime unfolded, they said. Also, testing was underway to determine if the shotgun Howell was carrying was the same one used in the killings.

    Court documents allege that Howell burglarized the Taylor home at 1 E. Woodbridge Lane. That’s the address from where a woman made the 911 call about 12:50 p.m. Tuesday.

    When officers arrived, they found Choucroun dead in the driveway of her home, 3 E. Woodbridge, next door to the Taylor residence. They went into the Taylor home and found both critically injured in the basement.

    Officers then began a house-to-house search and found the bodies of the Hursts in the front yard of Lorene Hurst’s home at 7 E. Woodbridge. She and her son may have just returned from the grocery store when they were shot.

    Witnesses at the scene told police that after hearing several gunshots, they saw the Taylors’ Toyota Highlander driving down the street. One witness said the driver stopped in front of Choucroun’s house, got out and shot her before getting back in the vehicle and driving away.

    A few hours later, police were called to a Motel 6 at 8230 N.W. Prairie View Road, where they found three victims, one with several cuts on his head. The victims told police that a man had followed them to their room and asked for a cigarette. After assaulting two of the victims, the man fled on foot.

    Police searching for the motel assault suspect soon found the Highlander abandoned in a restaurant parking lot a few blocks from the Motel 6.

    Shortly before midnight, officers acting on the tip stopped Howell. Besides the shotgun, the keys to the Highlander were found in his pants pocket, according to the court documents.

    On Wednesday, Platte County prosecutors charged him with multiple crimes related to the motel incident.

    Wednesday was not the first time Howell has been accused of murder. A Jackson County jury in 2009 acquitted him in the killings of Johnson County teenagers Tabitha Brewer and Nick Travis.

    Howell also spent time in prison for a 1999 home invasion robbery in Gardner in which a pet cat was beheaded. He was paroled in 2011.

    Brewer, 16, and Travis, 18, were last seen by their families in April 1998.

    Several days later, Brewer’s partially burned purse was found near 55th Street and the Paseo. Four months after they disappeared, Travis’ body was discovered buried in the yard of a duplex in the 5400 block of the Paseo. The duplex was being renovated at the time by Howell’s father, according to later testimony at his trial.

    Brewer’s body has never been found.

    While Kansas City police continued to investigate that case, Howell was arrested by Johnson County authorities in connection with an October 1999 home invasion robbery. In that case, three men forced their way into a Gardner apartment, threatened the residents and demanded drugs and money.

    One of the victims suffered a cut on the hand. The assailants killed the cat, a tabby named Tony.

    Just before he was scheduled to go to trial, Howell pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping, aggravated assault, attempted aggravated robbery and animal cruelty.

    A Johnson County judge sentenced him to 12 years in prison.

    In 2006, Jackson County prosecutors charged Howell with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Travis and Brewer.

    A high school acquaintance of the teens, he was the last person seen with them before they were reported missing.

    Several witnesses who testified at trial said Howell implicated himself in the killings. But after hearing the evidence, the Jackson County jury found Howell not guilty of the charges.

    Tom Brewer, Tabitha’s father, pursued his own investigation in the decade after his daughter’s disappearance. Brewer said that he saw pictures of Howell on television Wednesday and knew it was the same man acquitted of killing his daughter.

    Jurors from his daughter’s case, he said, likely are second-guessing their verdicts.

    “I feel sorry for the jurors who acquitted him the last time because that is going to be hard for them to live with,” Brewer said. “Justice is always served one way or another. I hate to see more lives shattered by this man. He’s a bad person and he shouldn’t be out.”

    He said the events Tuesday and Wednesday have reminded him of how bitter Howell’s acquittal was five years ago.

    “It was hard,” Brewer said. “You want to find some kind of justice for what has been done. I believe the old saying from the Bible that you reap what you sow. This man has repeatedly sown violence.”

    http://www.kansascity.com/news/local...#storylink=cpy

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    Accused of Tuesday’s triple murders in South KC, man appears before judge again

    By Michelle Pekarsky
    fox4kc.com

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brandon Howell, 34, appeared before a Jackson County judge Thursday morning, charged with the murders of three people Tuesday in South Kansas City.

    Prosecutors say Howell brutally killed Lorene Hurst, 88, her son, Darrel Hurst, 63, and Susan Choucroun, 69, in an armed robbery in the Woodbridge neighborhood near Wornall and Blue Ridge Blvd.

    During his arraignment before Judge Mary Weir, Howell was read the charges against him, which in addition to three counts of first-degree murder, also include 4 counts of armed criminal action, two counts of first degree assault for the injuries suffered by Anne and George Taylor. He faces one count of first-degree burglary, one count of stealing a motor vehicle and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. A judge agreed to the prosecutor’s request to deny bond to Howell.

    Police and neighbors told FOX 4 that the three victims killed in the South Kansas City Woodbridge neighborhood were apparently coming to the aid of neighbors Anne and George Taylor after they noticed something wrong. Neighbors say Choucroun and the Hursts reportedly noticed a man attempting to steal the Taylors’ antique Jaguar from their home at One Woodbridge Lane. They say the gunman hot-wired the Jaguar but was having trouble driving it away. Then, the gunman jumped in the Taylors’ SUV. Witnesses say when the gunman realized there were witnesses, he shot them at point-blank range with a shotgun, killing them instantly.

    Howell has been in a courtroom many times, with an extensive criminal record. In 2009, at the age of 25, he was acquitted of the murders of two teenagers, Nicholas Travis, 19, and Tabitha Brewer, 16, who disappeared in 1998.

    The couple was last seen with Howell at Brewer’s home in April of 1998. Brewer’s body has never been found. Travis’ body was found in the backyard of a Kansas City, Mo., duplex in the summer of 1998.

    “I have spoken with the Brewer family this morning and expressed to them that we care deeply about their daughter as well as Nicholas Travis, who I spoke with his parents as well. We care deeply about those two individuals and that we’re going to fight for justice,” said Jean Peters-Baker, Jackson County Prosecutor, when she announced the charges against Brandon Howell on Wednesday.

    On Tuesday, an SUV belonging to Anne and George Taylor, the couple severely beaten in the South Kansas City Woodbridge neighborhood, was later found in the Northland, just blocks from where the Motel 6 assaults took place and a few miles from where Howell was arrested.

    At the news conference Wednesday afternoon, Jean Peters-Baker said she and her team would be working to bring Howell to justice for the families that were suffering.

    “They went to bed last night with a nightmare and they woke up to their very worst nightmare and it’s true. It’s true that three families are struck with an unimaginable grief at the hands of a single individual,” Peters-Baker said.

    Howell is scheduled to be back in court on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 2 p.m.

    http://fox4kc.com/2014/09/04/accused...e-judge-again/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
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    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
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    Metro mom describes triple homicide suspect as ‘pure evil’

    By Shannon O'Brien
    fox4kc.com

    OLATHE, Kan. – Triple homicide suspect Brandon Howell spent 12 years in prison for kidnapping and assault in Johnson County, Kan., among other things. The mother of one of his victims spoke only to FOX 4 about that crime and Howell’s latest arrest.

    Dianne Remfert knows Howell all too well. She sat through every day of his trial in 2000 for kidnapping and assault, among other crimes. Her son was a witness and a victim. Remfert said she and her son found out that Howell was out of prison when they watched the news Wednesday.

    “My son sent me a text and said, ‘mom, that was Brandon Howell that murdered those three people and injured the others, what the ‘F’ is he doing out? What’s going on?’” Remfert said.

    Remfert says she, nor her son, were notified that Howell had gotten out of prison after he served 12 years for kidnapping and assault. Remfert’s son, Justin Keller, was one of his victims in that 2000 crime.

    Remfert said Howell and his co-conspirators kidnapped, robbed and assaulted Keller, his friend and their girlfriends in their Gardner, Kan. apartment. Howell kidnapped Keller and his friend at gunpoint, took them on a ride to commit another robbery, and the two of them got away. When Keller returned to the apartment, he found it ransacked and worse.

    “Took their cat and decapitated it. Threw its head out in the backyard off the balcony and hung it from the light fixture in the living room,” she said.

    Remfert said law enforcement officials were so concerned for the victims’ safety in that 2000 case that they made them leave town after the crime and during the trial, only returning to town to testify. She said her son was supposed to be notified if and when Howell got out, and she wants to know why the Kansas Department of Probation and Parole did not tell them Howell was back on the streets.

    Remfert said her terror from the 2000 crime came flooding back when she heard that police think Howell is responsible for the murders and assaults on Woodbridge and at a Platte County Motel 6.

    “Oh, I started crying, what, three people, three innocent old people had to die for what? Because this spoiled brat wanted a car. A vintage car. He has not thought for anybody but himself. He is very selfish, he is very controlling, he is very manipulative. He’s evil, he’s pure evil,” Remfert said.

    Howell is being held without bond in the Jackson County Detention Center, he’s due back in a Jackson County courtroom on September 25.

    http://fox4kc.com/2014/09/04/metro-m...-as-pure-evil/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Family: Couple beaten in South KC triple murder attack remains on life support

    By Michelle Pekarsky
    fox4kc.com

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The family of George and Ann Taylor gathered Friday afternoon, coming from near and far to make a brief statement about their loved ones who were brutally attacked Tuesday, Sept. 2 in their home at 1 Woodbridge Lane in South Kansas City.

    Relatives of the Taylors said they are forever indebted to the Hursts and Choucroun, who became victims themselves when they witnessed the gunman stealing the Taylors’ vehicle. Ann and George Taylor were severely injured. Three others were killed by a gunman who stole the Taylors’ SUV. On Thursday, prosecutors charged Brandon Howell, 34, with three counts of first degree murder for the deaths of Lorene Hurst, 88, her son, Darrel Hurst, 63, and neighbor Susan Choucroun, 69.

    “Our family would like to send our love and thoughts to the relatives and friends of Ann and George’s neighbors who tragically lost their lives that day. We believe that they were killed trying to support Ann and George,” said a niece of the Taylors, who wanted to remain unnamed.

    She said both Ann and George remained on life support. The family thanked supporters including emergency responders, doctors, nurses and police.

    “Today Ann and George are fighting for their lives. They are both on life support measures,” their niece read in a statement. “We remain optimistic, but we know this is going to be a tough and long struggle.”

    The family described Ann as an entrepreneur and a member of the Red Hat society. George is a veteran, an avid Chiefs and Royals fan and a brick mason.

    “The family is in complete shock,” she said. “We cannot understand how such a heinous crime could happen to two such wonderful and kindhearted people.”

    The family also thanked the community for their outpouring of support and encouragement and prayers.

    “The family would like just to say, even in these troubled times, it is so heartwarming to see the entire community come together over this senseless crime that could affect anyone of us,” said their niece.

    http://fox4kc.com/2014/09/05/family-...-life-support/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Elderly Kansas City couple brutally beaten in their home during fatal shooting spree die

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two people have died after being beaten in their Kansas City home during an attack in which three others were fatally shot.

    Kansas City police say Ann and George Taylor, both in their 80s, died Tuesday after spending a week on life support.

    Prosecutors allege that Brandon Howell attacked the couple in the basement of their home on Sept. 2, then fatally shot three neighbors before fleeing in the Taylors' SUV.

    He's charged with several felonies, including three counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of 88-year-old Alice Hurst, her son, 63-year-old Darrel Hurst, and 69-year-old Susan Choucroun.

    Howell, a convicted felon with a history of violence, was arrested shortly after the killings. Police found him walking along Interstate 29 with a loaded shotgun in his pants.

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/09/09...atal-shooting/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Judge rules on evidence motion in Brandon Howell case

    The Kansas City man charged with first-degree murder in connection with a violent rampage that left five people dead in a south Kansas City neighborhood faced a judge again Thursday.

    Attorneys for Brandon Howell made two requests of Judge Mary Wehr, asking that prosecutors be ordered to preserve all evidence in the case, including police notes, surveillance tapes and lab items, and also ordered to begin turning over the evidence they already have within 30 days.

    The judge promised to issue a ruling on the first motion later, but immediately granted the second.

    Prosecutors said they have voluminous evidence in the case against Howell in the shooting deaths of Darrel Hurst, Lorene Hurst and Susan Choucroun and the beatings of George and Ann Taylor. The Taylors died of their injuries a week later.

    Prosecutors also told the court that they anticipate a Jackson County grand jury will be hearing evidence in the case, opening the door for more charges against Howell and keeping the possibility of the death penalty in play.

    Howell was allowed to dress in street clothes for Thursday's hearing. He is being held without bond in the Jackson County Jail.

    http://www.kmbc.com/news/judge-rules...#ixzz3EMsNUxM0
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    Accused spree killer indicted in deaths of retired couple

    By Dave Eckert
    KCTV

    KANSAS CITY, MO - Brandon Howell, the man previously charged with killing three residents in South Kansas City, has been indicted in connection with the deaths of a retired couple.

    A Jackson County grand jury on Friday handed down two first-degree murder indictments again Howell, 34, according to online court records. A judge had to sign off on the indictments, and Howell was served with the indictments this weekend. Once that occurred, the public was notified about the indictments about 9 p.m. Sunday by the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office.

    The indictments replace earlier assault charges in connection with the attacks on George and Ann Taylor in their South Kansas City home last September. The Taylors were brutally assaulted and died some days later in a Kansas City hospital. Initial assault charges were filed prior to the Taylors' passing.

    The five residents were killed in the Woodbridge area of South Kansas City on Sept. 2.

    As a result of the grand jury's actions on Friday, Howell is now facing 12 felony counts in connection with the crimes: five counts of murder in the first degree, one count each of first degree burglary, stealing a motor vehicle and unlawful possession of a firearm, and four counts of armed criminal action. The grand jury issued indictments that supersede the charges originally filed by the prosecutor's office.

    Kansas City police found the Taylors beaten inside their home on Woodbridge Lane. Officers also found three other victims in their yards or driveways at nearby residences.

    The horror began unfolding when Howell allegedly attempted to steal a Jaguar owned by George and Ann Taylor, who officers found badly beaten in their basement.

    Lorene Hurst was killed along with her son, Darrel, who was making one of his frequent visits to his mother when the tragic events unfolded. Also killed was Susan Choucroun, 69. Prosecutors allege that some of those killed by Howell witnessed his crime spree, and he sought to silence them.

    Howell was arrested later on Interstate 29 near NW 72nd Street. He is suspected of assaulting three motel guests.

    Howell has an extensive juvenile and adult criminal record including first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, assault and animal abuse charges in both Kansas and Missouri. His first criminal conviction occurred when he was 12.

    As an adult, he beheaded a cat named Toby during a home invasion robbery in Johnson County that involved drugs. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for those crimes.

    He was previously accused of killing two people in 1998, but a Jackson County jury acquitted him.

    Prosecutors have not said publicly whether or not they will seek the death penalty in the September killings. It typically takes Jackson County prosecutors months to determine whether to seek the death penalty. Prosecutors traditionally seek indictments by grand juries in potential death penalty cases. The indictments also mean that a preliminary hearing on the charges isn't necessary and prosecutors can hold back releasing some evidence until a later date.

    Prosecutors have requested Howell be held without bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday at 10 a.m on the indictments.

    http://www.kctv5.com/story/27463587/...city-residents
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Prosecutors to seek death penalty for man charged with killing 5 people in Kansas City

    KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Prosecutors said Friday that they will seek the death penalty against a man charged with using a shotgun to kill three people and fatally beating two others in a quiet south Kansas City neighborhood.

    Brandon Howell, a convicted felon with a violent past, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder. A court filing that describes the justifications for seeking the death penalty describes the killings as "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture, or depravity of mind."

    "Our focus today is on the five victims who tragically lost their lives on the afternoon of Sept. 2, 2014, and their loved ones left behind," Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in written statement announcing the decision.

    The statement said Baker's office wouldn't comment further.

    Michael Barrett, the director of Missouri's Public Defender System, didn't immediately return an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

    Prosecutors have said Howell beat 86-year-old Anna Taylor and her 80-year-old husband in their home before stealing their sport utility vehicle and fatally shooting three others outside.

    Police arrived after Anna Taylor called 911 and found her and her husband, George, critically injured in their basement. Witnesses said they saw a man get out of the Taylors' SUV and shoot their next-door neighbor, Susan Choucroun, before driving away.

    Also killed were 88-year-old Alice Hurst and her son. Darrel Hurst, 63, had been visiting his mother, and police have said the Hursts may have been returning from the grocery store.

    Howell was arrested hours later when police say they found him walking with a loaded shotgun.

    The Taylors died of their injuries a week later.

    Kansas court records show that Howell pleaded guilty in 2000 to a 1999 home invasion in Johnson County, Kansas. He was sentenced to 12 years but was paroled in 2011.

    He was acquitted in 2009 in the killings of two Kansas teenagers who were last seen in 1998. One victim's body was later found buried outside a Kansas City, Missouri, home being renovated by Howell's father; the other body has never been found.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...City-Shootings

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    November 18, 2016

    Trial delayed in south Kansas City rampage that left five dead in 2014

    By Tony Rizzo
    The Kansas City Star

    The man charged with killing five people in south Kansas City in 2014 on Friday was granted a delay of his trial until early 2018.

    The trial for Brandon Howell, 36, had been scheduled for September 2017.

    But on Friday, a Jackson County judge granted a defense request for the delay until March 2018.

    Howell is charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 2, 2014, shotgun slayings of Susan Choucroun, 69; Lorene Hurst, 88; and her son Darrel Hurst, 63; and the beating deaths of George Taylor, 80; and Anna Taylor, 86.

    He also faces charges of burglary, illegal possession of weapons, vehicle theft and four counts of armed criminal action.

    Jackson County prosecutors have said they are seeking a death sentence for Howell.

    According to court records, Howell allegedly burglarized the Taylor home at 1 E. Woodbridge Lane. A woman inside the residence dialed 911.

    Arriving officers first found Choucroun dead in her driveway next door to the Taylor home. Officers found the Taylors critically injured inside the basement of their home. They died later at a hospital.

    Officers then found the bodies of the Hursts in the front yard of Lorene Hurst’s home at 7 E. Woodbridge. She and her son may have just returned from grocery shopping.

    Witnesses told police that after hearing several gunshots, they saw the Taylors’ Toyota Highlander speed down the street. One witness said the driver stopped in front of Choucroun’s house, got out and shot Choucroun before getting back in the vehicle and driving away.

    Howell was arrested later that night as he walked along Interstate 29 in Kansas City, North, with a shotgun in his right pant leg. He had two spent shells in a pocket along with the keys to the Highlander, officers said.

    http://www.kansascity.com/news/local...115732038.html

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    Slow journey to justice in south Kansas City slaying that killed 5

    By Andres Gutierrez
    KSHB News

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the better part of his adult life, Brandon Howell has lived behind bars.

    The now 38-year-old is currently at the Jackson County Jail charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Lorene and Darrel Hurst, George and Ann Taylor and Susan Choucroun.

    "Her mother passed away six weeks before Susan was murdered, so we experienced a lot of loss in a short period of time,” Ronald Sandhaus, Choucroun’s brother, told 41 Action News over the phone.

    That was in September 2014.

    The following year, the prosecutor's office announced it would seek the death penalty against Howell as the court had set a trial date of September 25, 2017.

    However, in 2016, Howell’s defense team asked for that date to be pushed back.

    The judge allowed it and a new trial date was penciled in for March of this year. But last October, the defense asked for it be pushed back once again.

    "I'm not terribly shocked by the delay or find it out of the ordinary,” Sandhaus said.

    This five-page order explains the case thus far.

    Howell's lead counsel is a public defender from a unit that specializes in death penalty cases. However, that unit can only handle so many cases in a year.

    If the case had gone on in March as planned, it could have risked violating Howell's Constitutional rights.

    The judge decided to grant, once again, a new trial date.

    "The courts and everyone in a death penalty case bend over backward a little bit to go along with a lot of the motions of the defense and stuff because they don't want to create errors that would cause a reversal on appeal,” Sandhaus said.

    Howell is now set to go in front of a jury on April 9, 2019.

    "The fact that he is off the streets and probably is never going to see the light of day again, I feel some level of justice,” Sandhaus said.

    A pretrial sentencing hearing for Howell is set for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

    https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news...-that-killed-5
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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