A Kansas man is accused of fatally shooting his mother and aunt after being evicted from their home, then fleeing to Missouri, where he reportedly confessed to the crime inside a pharmacy.
Authorities say 34-year-old Luke Anthony Howard had been living with his mother, Valerie Howard, 63, and his aunt, Joyce Austin, 71, in Lenexa, Kansas. But when Austin served him with an eviction notice, things took a deadly turn.
According to court documents, on February 12, Howard showed up at a pharmacy in Liberty, Missouri, about 30 miles from his family’s home. Pharmacy staff noticed he had blood on his clothes as he told them he needed to turn himself in. When police arrived, Howard allegedly admitted to killing both women.
Lenexa police rushed to the home, where they found Valerie Howard and Joyce Austin dead from gunshot wounds. In the same room, investigators discovered about a dozen shell casings. Later that day, Austin’s son called police to check if his mother was dead, telling officers that Howard owned guns.
The tragic events didn’t happen overnight. Records show a troubling history of family conflict. On February 10, police had already been called to the home after a fight between Howard and his mother. She told officers that she and Austin had locked themselves in their rooms because they were scared of him, citing a violent incident from 2021.
That same day, Austin called police again, saying Howard had threatened her and was behaving erratically. She informed officers that he had bipolar disorder and she wanted him out of the house.
The next day, February 11, Howard made his own call to police, claiming that Austin had threatened him with a gun. However, he quickly retracted the claim. He also mentioned that he was being forced to leave, and Austin confirmed that she had given him 30 days to move out. That day, mental health officials from Johnson County visited the home and asked Howard if he had any guns. He denied having any, and a search didn’t turn up any weapons.
Now, Howard is being held in Clay County, Missouri, on a $5 million bond, awaiting extradition to Johnson County, Kansas, where he will face murder charges.
