Trial for son of murdered Troy woman postponed to allow testing of new DNA evidence
Prosecutors have asked a Madison County Circuit Court judge to postpone the trial of a man accused of strangling his mother in Troy last year so they can test DNA of another man from St. Louis.
The St. Louis man isn’t being called a suspect, and investigators reportedly told victim Norma Caraker’s family that he had an alibi for the time of her death. Son Neil Howard was the only person in the home when police found her body, according to court records.
But DNA taken from under Caraker’s fingernails didn’t match Howard’s DNA, his attorneys stated in a Dec. 16 motion. They maintain investigators were too quick to assume his guilt and eliminate other suspects.
“It is clear from the actions of the State that there are reasonable doubts that they have charged the right person,” the defense motion stated. “The police investigation is not over as they continue to look at other suspects.
“Whether the DNA analysis of the evidence gathered at the crime scene confirms that it was (the St. Louis man) whose DNA was under the victim’s fingernails which were ripped off in the assault or whether it was another attacker remains unknown. What is known is that the DNA under the victim’s fingernails is not Neil Howard’s.”
The motion had been filed in response to a Dec. 10 prosecution request that Howard’s trial, scheduled for Jan. 6, 2025, be postponed.
Prosecutors argued that more time was needed to test a DNA sample obtained Dec. 4 from the St. Louis man, who had met Caraker for a date hours before her death; and to prepare for questioning of a cellular-signal expert the defense planned to call to interpret the man’s phone records.
The prosecution’s motion stated that failure to test the man’s DNA and compare it to samples found at the crime scene could result in a “post-trial due process claim” (request for change of judgment or verdict).
“On December 6, 2024, the State conveyed this new DNA sample to the Illinois State Police crime lab and requested expedited processing,” the motion stated. “The lab reported back that the DNA analysis ... cannot be processed until the end of January.”
Howard’s attorneys, David Fahrenkamp and Jeremy Sackett, opposed the postponement. They argued that investigators knew about the St. Louis man from the beginning but failed to properly follow up until a month before trial, creating their own “emergency.”
The defense had asked for confirmation in April on whether prosecutors had obtained DNA samples from the St. Louis man or another man who had dated Caraker and become a beneficiary on her life-insurance policy shortly before the murder.
Both men are identified in court records. The BND isn’t naming them because they haven’t been charged with crimes.
According to the Dec. 16 defense motion, the St. Louis man refused to meet with prosecutors until after they gave him “use immunity,” which prohibits them from using his statements against him in court.
Norma Caraker, 60, was a beloved waitress and widow of a former Troy mayor. Her body was found about 1:30 a.m. Sept. 13, 2023, in her home on Lower Marine Road. She had a “ligature” (unspecified item for tying or binding) around her neck, court records show.
The next day, the state’s attorney’s office filed murder charges against Howard, who was living with her.
Sister still backs defendant
Prosecutors and defense attorneys argued for and against postponement at a Dec. 17 hearing. Judge Amy Maher ruled for the former, rescheduling Howard’s trial for Feb. 3, 2025.
“The court finds (prosecutors) have been diligent in pursuit of evidence and have provided ongoing discovery in a timely fashion,” Maher wrote in her order. “Additional DNA evidence is necessary for the preparation and presentation of the case. The source of the additional DNA was not under the authority or control of the state.”
Howard’s attorneys disagree that investigators and prosecutors have acted in a timely fashion, according to court filings.
Fahrenkamp and Sackett stated in motions that Troy police collected evidence from Caraker’s body using a sexual-assault kit but hadn’t submitted it for lab analysis eight months later and that prosecutors didn’t provide them with phone records for the St. Louis man until Oct. 10 of this year.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Luke Yager and Ryan Kemper are prosecuting the Caraker case. Brian Brueggemann, spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office, said Friday the office has a policy against commenting on evidence or witnesses for an upcoming trial.
One of Howard’s supporters is his sister, Andrea Hall, who told the BND in April that Troy police “jumped the gun” by arresting her brother, now 46, and relied too heavily on his court record. That record includes convictions for domestic battery against other women and charges related to drugs and alcohol.
In 2005, authorities in Dallas County, Texas, accused Neil Howard of murdering his father, George Howard, by shooting him. They failed to get nine out of 12 grand-jury members to indict him, so he was released.
Hall hasn’t changed her mind about Neil Howard’s innocence in her mother’s death, according to a private Facebook message to the BND last week. “I’m still backing him 100%,” she wrote.
Jenny Hosler, Howard and Hall’s sister, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Earlier this year, Police Chief Chris Wasser declined to comment on evidence or witnesses in the Caraker case but answered “yes” when asked if he believed his department had done a thorough investigation.
Victim worked as waitress
Caraker was a waitress at Troy Family Restaurant in Troy and The Lucky Rooster Pub & Eatery in St. Jacob at the time of her death. She formerly worked at Sgt. Pepper’s Cafe in Edwardsville.
Norma Caraker was the widow of former Troy mayor Charles “Tom” Caraker, who died six years ago. She had three children from her previous marriage and two stepchildren, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Howard attended Cahokia High School, lived in Collinsville, Maryville and Hillsboro, Missouri, and formerly worked at Pilot Travel Center in Troy, court records show. He has three grown children.
Troy police found Norma Caraker’s body about 1:30 a.m. Sept. 13, 2023, in the bedroom of her home at 600 Lower Marine Road after receiving a call for a welfare check. A coroner’s report gave asphyxiation as cause of death.
The state’s attorney’s office charged Howard with two counts of first-degree murder by strangulation. He later was indicted by a grand jury and is being held in the Madison County Jail on a $3 million bond.
In April, Hall told the BND that security video showed her mother at the Time Out Sports Bar & Grill in Troy on the evening of Sept. 12, 2023, with a man she had met on an online dating website.
Hall said she believed her brother’s story that Caraker called him from the bar and told him to clean up the kitchen and go down to his bedroom in the basement because she was bringing home a date and that Howard put in earbuds to give them privacy.
Hall said Howard later texted his girlfriend and Hall to tell them he sensed something was wrong but waited 30 minutes to call 911 because he was reluctant to interrupt his mother in the middle of the night.
“I told investigators that his story, what my brother told them, seemed very plausible,” Hall said in April, noting that she formerly lived with Caraker and Howard and knew their routines.
Hall said investigators told her Caraker’s date had an alibi for the period when they believe she was killed. An evidence list that prosecutors filed in May included AT&T phone records, some involving the St. Louis man.
Attorneys aren’t getting paid
In April, Hall said Howard couldn’t get proper treatment for his health problems while in jail. In a prior motion for dismissal, he had stated that he needed a toe amputated due to diabetes and a bone infection and constant care following quintuple-bypass heart surgery.
In May, Judge Maher rejected Howard’s request to leave jail and stay with a family member under electronic monitoring.
“There is clear and convincing evidence that defendant was the only person found with the recently deceased victim, the offense is not probationable and is the most serious offense that can be charged under our statues,” Maher wrote in her order.
“The court finds that electronic monitoring is not a sufficient safeguard for the community at this time as the offense was allegedly committed against a family member using items that were readily accessible in the home.”
Prosecutors have submitted a list of nearly 50 witnesses that they could call at Howard’s trial.
In a Dec. 6 motion, they asked Maher to prohibit witnesses or attorneys from speculating on alcohol or drug use by Caraker, her romantic relationships or alternate suspects that Troy police considered but ultimately determined to be irrelevant to the case.
Other court filings show:
- Howard filed paperwork to prove he’s indigent, and his attorneys report that he hasn’t been paying them for legal work.
- In November, the attorneys asked the court to cover a $3,500 retainer for their own DNA expert to review evidence and testify at Howard’s trial. Maher denied the request, determining the services weren’t critical to his case.
- Prosecutors plan to introduce testimony from Howard’s ex-wife, a past girlfriend and current girlfriend about alleged incidents of domestic violence against them.
- Prosecutors also plan to introduce copies of Howard’s most recent conviction for domestic battery against a Maryville woman in 2016.
