Nancy Howery.Photo: Brevard County Sheriff’s Office
A Florida man is accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend during an argument and burning her body in an attempt to hide evidence connecting him to the crime, authorities said.
Daniel Stearns, 32, has been charged with second-degree murder with a firearm, mutilation of a dead body, and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of 44-year-old Nancy Howery, who was reported missing on Feb. 18, according to apress releasefrom the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
Howery’s partial remains were located in a wooded area in Palm Bay known as “The Compound,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said during a March 10news conferenceannouncing Stearns' arrest. The grim discovery came after investigators surveilled Stearns and realized he had allegedly tried to bury a body in the compound after burning it.
A missing persons investigation was launched and detectives soon learned she was last seen on Feb. 15 at a gun club in Palm Bay.
She was reportedly hanging out with a friend, who told investigators that Howery was supposed to meet her boyfriend, Stearns, later that day in Palm Bay.
According to Butler, Howery’s Honda Odyssey was found abandoned on the side of a Palm Bay road on Feb. 19. With help from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, an investigation quickly identified Stearns as a suspect; Howery began dating Stearns after they met on social media, Ivey added.
Stearns was interviewed twice during the course of the investigation and allegedly showed “significant areas of deception, and truly identified himself as a prime suspect in the case,” the sheriff told reporters.
Daniel Stearns.Brevard County Sheriff’s Office
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This week, the sheriff’s office increased its monitoring of Stearns and amassed more than 50 hours of surveillance footage.
“Ultimately the surveillance led us here to the ‘The Compound’ and there are actually five different crime scenes,” Ivey said.
Stearns was taken into custody after he was allegedly spotted trying to bury the body. Eventually, he allegedly confessed to killing Howery and trying to dispose of her remains, according to the sheriff. Investigators toldWESHthey believe the couple was arguing when Stearns fatally shot Howery.
Stearns is being held without bail at Brevard County Jail. It is not immediately clear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
