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SOUTH SALT LAKE -- A murder suspect from California was arrested Friday morning at a home in South Salt Lake.
Kenneth David Howell is tied to two murders and is considered one of Los Angeles' most wanted fugitives. A tip led police to a house in South Salt Lake.
Howell's alleged crimes
According to the FBI, on Aug. 24, 2009, Howell suffocated his wife, Tammy Lynn Howland, in the bedroom of her Los Angeles home after an argument about money. Detectives said he placed a plastic bag around her head and then secured it and her hands with duct tape.
Agents said after the murder, Howell sexually assaulted his 13-year-old stepdaughter while her mother lay dead under a blanket.
Gary Keller, with the South Salt Lake Police Department, said, "It's unbelievable what people will do. This is a very heinous crime."
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Howell was arrested for another murder in Fresno, Calif. in 1987. In that case, he allegedly choked his girlfriend to death, but the district attorney elected not to prosecute the case.
Now, 23 years later, police in Los Angeles have reopened that case.
"Because of the violence of the two particular crimes, combined especially, certainly tells them that he's go the potential to be harmful to anybody that he encounters," said U.S. Marshals Chief Deputy James Thompson.
Howell arrested in South Salt Lake
Early Friday morning, police got word that Howell was staying with his aunt in South Salt Lake. Police, along with the U.S. Marshals Joint Criminal Apprehension Team, went to the home near 3700 South and McCall Street.
"The reason we called them in, we didn't know just how desperate he would be once confronted," Keller said.
They found Howell hiding in a bedroom closet.
"He probably heard the commotion out front and tried to hide himself," Keller said.
Howell, a convicted felon, has been featured on the FBI's website. In September, California prosecutors charged him with Howland's murder and sexual assault of a child. A warrant was issued for his arrest. Then in October, a federal warrant was issued.
"He committed quite a few violent crimes, so this is the type of criminal that we love to get off the street," Thompson said.
A detective with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department flew to Utah Friday morning. He will work on getting Howell back to California to face the charges against him.
The U.S. Marshals Service is investigating whether or not Howell's aunt knew about his criminal history.
Officers arrested another man, Timothy Ray Slaughter, at the same home Friday on a non-related misdemeanor warrant.
Neighbor says Howell talked about his past
He seemed like an OK guy. I didn't think he was that kind of person, but it was kind of weird to find out.
–Neighbor Mike Gillespie
Neighbor Mike Gillespie said Howell had been living in South Salt Lake for at least six months.
He said, "He seemed like an OK guy. I didn't think he was that kind of a person, but it was kind of weird to find out."
He said Howell would get drunk and openly talk about what he had allegedly done.
"That he murdered his ex, and we thought he was just crazy, just kind of blew it off that way. [He] said he was here and he couldn't go back to California," Gillespie said.
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Story compiled with contributions from Sandra Yi, Jennifer Stagg, Shara Park and Andrew Adams.
