Tuesday, March 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
After Tyrone Howard was arrested for murdering his mother, he told police, "You don't see any tears on me."
Tears finally welled in Howard's eyes Monday when the convicted killer took the witness stand at his penalty hearing to explain to a District Court jury the tortured relationship he had with his mother.
Although the sentence was in the hands of the same jury that convicted him of first-degree murder a week ago, it really isn't much of a choice.
Because prosecutors aren't seeking the death penalty, the choice is between life prison terms with or without the possibility of parole after 40 years.
Even if the jury in District Judge Myron Leavitt's courtroom picks the lightest sentence, it would mean the 43-year-old defendant will be 82 when he finally is eligible for parole.
Today, a year to the day since the murder, the jury continued its deliberations into Howard's fate after being unable after two hours Monday to reach a verdict.
In his testimony, Howard referred to the slaying of his 70-year-old mother on March 18, 1996, as "the tragedy" and said he never intended to injure her.
Prosecutors quickly reminded the jury that Howard apparently clubbed Catherlena Howard and then shot her through the mouth before chasing her down as she tried to flee and shot her three times in the back.
The fourth bullet was fired into the back of her head as Howard stood over her.
"Her life was taken by the meanness and coldness of her son," Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz said during closing arguments in the penalty hearing. "It was not a quick killing. It was slow and deliberate and painful."
In his testimony, Howard detailed how he lost more than $500,000 of an inheritance he received from his father and indicated that his mother had manipulated much of the money from him.
The final straw, according to Deputy Public Defender Ralph Baker, was when she took the house her mildly retarded son was buying and then evicted him from it.
He noted that Howard's four dogs had to be turned over to Clark County Animal Control because he had no place to take them.
Schwartz recalled that it was only minutes after Howard had been evicted from the house at 6709 Larchwood Lane, near Spring Mountain Road and Rainbow Boulevard, that he returned and was laying in wait until his mother walked by.
A locksmith who was with her testified that Catherlena Howard was snatched by Howard as she walked by the room where he was hiding. The witness said she screamed in a muffled voice, "He's back, he's back. Oh my God, he's back. Help me."
A moment later, the witness testified, one shot rang out, followed seconds later by another.
A backyard neighbor testified that he saw Catherlena Howard screaming and running from the house with her son in pursuit. One shot to her back dropped her and a final shot was fired as she lay helpless on the ground.
Baker noted during closing arguments that Howard never denied his responsibility, but testified to let the jury know of his stormy relationship with the woman who once had tried unsuccessfully to gain control of his wealth through a conservatorship.
Baker said a psychologist determined that Howard is not a danger to the community despite his low IQ, his paranoid tendencies and an impulse control problem.
Deputy District Attorney David Roger countered that despite the strained relationship and emotional problems, "He is not a man who deserves mercy."
"You tell that killer ... the price for taking his mother's life is life in prison without the possibility of parole," Roger argued to the jury.
archive
