The Murder of Larry Howse

Apr 12

For this case I watched the latest episode of See No Evil. It’s season 7 episode 10, titled ‘Four And a Half Minutes.’

A dad of two boys is killed in Tacoma, Washington.

Background

Lawrence Howse, or Larry as he was referred to by his family and friends, was a 54 year old dad. Larry had been married to his children’s mom, but after his divorce he came out as a gay man. He was still very cordial with his ex-wife, and everyone accepted Larry for who he was.

Larry was a very adventurous person, and loved to be out on the water. He loved to fish and catch crabs, and would either go with his friends or sons.

The Murder

On August 31, 2013, around 10pm, a 911 call came into the Tacoma police department. A woman said there had been a shooting at the Sky Terrace Apartments. She said she heard a conversation between two men, and then heard the shots.

Before the police arrived, another woman found Larry in the middle of the parking garage. The woman told another neighbor, and he went to the parking garage with her. This neighbor was an Army medic, and he tried giving Larry CPR, but it was too late. Larry was pronounced dead at the scene.

The police soon arrived. Larry was found laying on his back, with his arms outstretched. His pants were around his ankles, and there was a sweatshirt and shoes nearby. The other items looked like they had been neatly placed in the area, and the police thought it could have been a robbery. The apartment complex was secured, and people couldn’t get in without a code or without being let in.

The police also noticed that Larry’s pants pockets were pulled out, so they swabbed the pockets and sent it in for DNA testing. Larry was not identified immediately. He was identified after they spoke to a manager, and showed her a picture of Larry’s face. The police didn’t find a cell phone, wallet or keys on him.

Investigation

To start their investigation, the police wanted to talk to the first 911 caller. She said she was visiting a friend, and was out on the balcony smoking a cigarette when she heard two men talking. She said she heard one man say “do you want to go get him?” The other man replied “sure.” She said it was only a few minutes later when she heard the gunshots.

The police also went to Larry’s apartment. It was described as being a very clean and well kept place. They confirmed Larry was in fact the victim, after seeing some family photos.

The police went back to the parking garage, and located a surveillance camera, pointed at the front entrance. They spoke to the manager, who agreed to show them the footage.

A little before 10pm, Larry and his black BMW, are seen driving into the complex. He’s also being followed, and before the gate closes, two young black males walk in. One of them is wearing a light colored sweatshirt, and one is wearing a dark plaid shirt, and has a belt that is dangling between his legs. The man in the plaid is also described as having a unique gait (walk).

Four minutes later, the men are seen running out of the complex, going in the opposite direction from where they came in. The police believed the two men lived nearby because they left on foot.

The footage is very grainy, but the police now knew that they were looking for two suspects.

A False Lead

The police began to search for other surveillance cameras, and collected footage from nearby businesses. The police looked through hours of footage, and didn’t find anything relevant.

A few days later, the police received an anonymous tip. The tipster said a man named David Elwood was heard bragging about the shooting. When the police ran the name through the database, they didn’t find anything. They also said they were able to clear this person, and guessed that one of the suspects or someone close to them called the tip in to throw them off.

The DNA also came back from Larry’s pants. The only DNA found was Larry’s. This confirmed the police’s robbery theory, and realized Larry was probably the victim of a random attack.

Another Robbery

Several more days went by without any leads. A patrol officer responded to a robbery at a Walgreens. The store manager said two men came in, and stole a bottle of Vodka. He described one of them as wearing a blue plaid shirt.

The officer asked if he could look at the surveillance footage. The first camera angle is near the front entrance, and it’s actually very good quality. The man in the blue plaid shirt is seen walking in, and the officer believed this was the same man from the surveillance from Larry’s death. He had seen the surveillance from Larry’s death, when the detectives showed the entire police department.

The rest of the surveillance footage had to be processed, and the patrol officer handed the footage over to Detective Nasworthy, of the Tacoma police department.

When the surveillance footage did come back, they watched and hoped they would finally come face to face with their suspect or suspects. The Walgreens front entrance had another camera angle, this one showing head on from the parking lot. The man in the blue plaid is seen walking in, with an older male behind him. The man in the blue plaid has a dangly belt, and an unusual gait. The police actually believed that the blue plaid shirt was the exact one the suspect was wearing in Larry’s murder.

Next, the suspects are seen walking towards the alcohol. They grab a bottle, and walk out. The manager is also seen on camera watching them leave, and using his phone, probably calling 911.

After the footage is sent into video forensics, the police confirmed that the man in the blue shirt is in fact their suspects from Larry’s murder. The second male is a lot older than the second man from the apartment surveillance, and he is ruled out. The police released the surveillance photos to the public.

Crime Stoppers

After the photos are released, a number of tips came in. All of the tips named the man in the blue plaid as being 18 year old Andrew Boyd. Andrew lived at the Sylvester House, a halfway house for juveniles.

The police called the manager of the Sylvester House, and the manager said she saw the photos, and confirmed it was Andrew. The manager said that everyone was allowed to leave whenever they wanted, but had to sign in and out. The police asked the manager to come in for a formal interview, and asked her to bring the log book. The log book proved that Andrew was not home at the time of Larry’s death.

The police asked the manager who Andrew hung out, and she said she didn’t know. She said it wasn’t anyone else who lived at the Sylvester House, and she even gave descriptions of the other residents. The descriptions didn’t match the second suspect.

The police decided to wait to arrest Andrew, until after they had identified the second suspect.

Another Tip

Three weeks exactly, after Larry was killed, another detective received a tip from a defense attorney. The DA said she had a client that had information about the Larry Howse case.

The client said they lived with a female in an apartment, which was frequented by Andrew and another male named Jeremy Bennett.

The client said on the night of the murder, Jeremy came over around 10:30pm, and was out of breath. They said Jeremy emptied his pockets, and was carrying a watch, BMW keys and a wallet. This information had never been released to the public. The client said that Jeremy and another friend named Jerry Floyd burned the wallet, but that they saw the ID card of Larry Howse.

After this, the police surveilled the known addresses for Andrew and Jeremy. Andrew Boyd was arrested at the Sylvester House. The police did find Andrew’s blue plaid shirt in his room, and when he was brought in, he was wearing the dangly belt.

The FBI Violent Task Force went to Jeremy’s house, but he wasn’t there.

Andrew’s Story

The police questioned Andrew, and he denied any involvement. Meanwhile, the police arrested Jerry Floyd at his mom’s house in downtown Tacoma. Jerry admitted that he had started the fire, and burned Larry’s wallet. Jerry said that Andrew told him to “watch it, or I’ll kill you too.”

The police confronted Andrew with this, and he still denied any involvement. The police showed him the Walgreens surveillance footage, and Andrew said it wasn’t him. It wasn’t said what the police did to finally get the confession out of him, but Andrew did eventually confirm he was in the Walgreens surveillance.

The police also told Andrew that they had surveillance of him from Larry’s murder. Andrew said he wanted to see it, and the police told him that they couldn’t show him. They didn’t want to show him because it was so grainy. However, Detective Nasworthy was able to draw a layout of the crime. Andrew said he’d tell him what really happened.

Andrew said he and Jeremy were out walking, and they saw Larry driving home in his BMW. Jeremy said he wanted that car, and they decided to follow Larry home. He said they were able to get inside before the gate closed, and Jeremy told Larry to empty his pockets and take off his clothes. Andrew said Jeremy had the gun, and when Larry wouldn’t remove his pants, Jeremy shot him.

Detective Nasworthy didn’t believe his whole story, but Washington State has a accomplice law, which means if you’re involved, you’re guilty of everything that happened.

The police located Jeremy Bennett after going to the courthouse to issue an arrest warrant for him. Jeremy Bennett told the police that it was his idea to go downtown to get money, but blamed everything else on Andrew.

Convictions

Just before his trial, Jeremy Bennett pleaded guilty to robbery and first degree murder. Six months after Jeremy’s plea, Andrew also pleaded guilty to robbery and first degree murder. Both denied being the shooter. Jeremy was sentenced to 28 years in prison, and Andrew was sentenced to 26 years.

They were both given the maximum sentence, which Larry’s whole family begged for. They were called “depraved,” and a “callous indifference for human life.”

Jerry Floyd pleaded guilty to criminal assistance, after admitting to destroying evidence. He was sentenced to 17 months in prison.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Larry Howse was an innocent victim, and I hate to say he was in the wrong place at the wrong time because he wasn’t. He was entering his parking garage to go into his apartment. These men were in the wrong place because they shouldn’t have been there, and shouldn’t have taken a person’s life over a car and money.

I honestly can’t believe they didn’t get longer sentences for first degree murder. I believe they should have gotten life, and I believe either one of them would kill again. If they were willing to kill someone over money or a car, then they’d kill over anything.

Sources

https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article26288854.html

https://tacomastories.com/2013/09/03/seventh-tacoma-homicide-of-2013-lawrence-howse/

https://www.kiro7.com/news/tacoma-police-need-help-solve-murder-mystery/246435093/