Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised. This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some readers discretion advised.
After 27 years of marriage, Kendy Howard wasn’t dreading divorce—she was practically giddy about the new life she was planning. She was ready to break free from her controlling husband, Dan, and had already rekindled a romance with her high school sweetheart. But just as she was about to step into her bright new future, tension between the couple was about to reach a deadly breaking point.
Divorce can be heartbraking for some couples but for one 48 year old Idaho women who tried to make her marriage work for more than half her life ,divorce wasn’t an ending she was dreading.
after 27 years ,,Kendy howard was ready to move on, her family and friends said she was so elated about the decision that she was practically giddy about starting the next stage of her life.
she was planning for a bright new future one that did not include Daniel Howard.
Kendy was a bubbly outgoing person who loved the outdoors, she was the mother of two children . a daughter from a previous relationship and a son she shared with Dan howard.
the couple Lived in Athol -Idaho.
Kendy was taking concrete action to break ties with Dan a former Idaoh state trooprer trooper who was jealous and controlling.
she had recently made an offer on a house in kamiah, Idaho. 176 miles away from A thol .
that’s were she reindled a relationship with her high school sweetheart Daniel pardo.
she had given notice at a company she worked for for 20 years, her dream was to open an antique store.
but as the conclusion of the howard’s divorce gre near tension between , Kendy and dan was reaching a breaking point.
In the early morning hours of january 29th, 2021, just 4 days before her death , Kendy made a distress call to her new boyfriend, she didn’t speak to him directly but left the line open so he could hear what was happening.he would later testify at Dan howard’s trial that kandy was distraught and emoyional and he hrard sounds of thuds in the background.he hang up
and called , Kendy ‘s parents who called 911.
after, Kendy ‘s parents placed that call police was dispatched to howard residents to conduct a welfare check. the officers reported that , Kendy was anxious and scared but seemed relieved then they attived. she packed a bag and went to stay at her parents home that night.
when kendy called her new boyfriend later that morning to tell him what had happened she was upset and sobbing. she said the had woken up in bed to find Dan loomingover her .
he was dressed in black and wearing gloves,she spotted a gun magazine on the floor , she believed he was going to kill her.
her new boyfriend and her parents begged her not to return to the house the next day . but , Kendy insisted that she had to go back she wanted to make sure her animals were okay and she had an eye appointment to keep.
police wouldbe called to the home again february 2nd this time because of a 911 call placed by Daniel howard.
body warn cameras by the responding officers captures his demeanor at the scene. he claimed that candy had shot herself with a handgun while taking a bath on the second floor.
investigators noteed in their reports that although Dan made loud wailing noises while they were at his house, there were no physical indications of crying such as tears or mucus. as one of the officers vrote : the long term excessive show of emotion seemed especially odd for a seasoned former law enforcement officer and former marine.
after they checked on kendy and determined that there were no signs of life ,
officers briefly discuss how to handle notifying Dan ofhis wif’e’s death.
despite hus best efforts to present himself as an innocent man, investigators were immediately suspicious of Dan howard. because they knew he had a volatile past.
in 2013 after he found out kandy was having an affair with their neighbor and friend matthew wood his response was extreme and multi- pronged.
according to the Kootenai county prosecutor’s office ,Dan pointed an assault rifle at matthew and threatened to splatter his brains all over the wall , he fired a shotgun at the roof of the house , stole his guns and mail and poured syrup in his vehicles.
he graffitied the lawn so conspicuously it could be seen from Google Earth’s satellite imagery. Dan also sent matthew vulgar and threatening messages telling him he was lucky to still be breathing and that he understood why men kill their old ladies.
he followed mathew around in his patrol vehicle and confronted him at work where he ripped a piece of metal off his desk and smashed it into his laptop computer.
the neighbor grew so fearful of Dan that he eventuall fled his Athol home and moved to washington state ,just to get away from him .
Dan howard was charged with first -degree stalking,aggravated assault and malicious injury to property in connection with those crimes. he admitted to some of the acts ,but not all and agreed to pay restitution to matthew.
when officers interviewed Dan at his house on the night of , Kendy ‘s death, he attempted to portray his wife as irrational and unstable.he claimed that she had threatened to harm herself many times before.
Dan says his marriage to kandy became strained because they had a long distance relationship half the time .
he worked in Alaska prudhoe bay operating equipment with a schedule of 3 weeks on and 3 weeks off, that wasn’t always the case.
back in 2014 Dan resigned his job of 19 years as a trooper with the Idaho state police following his suspension .his stalking behavior toards matthew wood led to his downfall .
when law enforcement served a warrant on his property in connection with the case , they found thousands of rounds of ammunition he had stolen from the Idaho state police.they also learned he had a fraudulent title for his harley- davidson motorcycle and a white- tailed deer that he had poached without a licence.
he was charged for these offenses,Dan howard was sentenced in early 2015 for malicious injury to property,petty theft, title fraud and failing to tag a deer he shot.
he was ordered to serve 120 days in jail and complete 600 hours of community service ,he was also given a suspended prison term for 3 years and placed on probation .
although the howard’s marriage had somehow ,managed to survive all of the previous turmoil it seemed that kendy had made up her mind this time .she was done with him. On the night kendy died ,Dan claimed it was an issues tha had come up between them regarding the divorce that had pushed her over the edge.
he said she became very upset and emotional when he insisted that they include the kamiah house in the liquidation and split of their assets even though she had put the offer in on the house herself. Dan said kendy had the gun because she had asked him to get it out of their safe a couple of days.
Kendy and Dan’s assets reportedly totaled about 2 million he deniedthat deviding it in half bothered him .but people close to kendy told police that he was Ultra focused on money and would hassle her about debit card transactions as small as 10 dollars .
being forced to split their substantial Nest Egg was viewed by investigators as a powerful for kendy’s murder.
they weren’t the only ones who viewed Dan with suspicion when the police were processingthe scene at his house Dan took a phone call from his stepdaughter. she was yelling at him so loudly that the officer could hear her from across the room.they used this conflict as an opportunity toconfront Dan about whether he was telling the truth.
kendy’s body indicated that she had fought hard to save her life the violent struggle left her with a broken jaw,bruises all over her body,lacarations on her feet and a second -degree burn on her arm
prosecutors asserted that Dan asphyxiated kendy by putting her in a carotid restraint.
the technique involves placing around the victim’s neck to apply pressure that cuts off the blood flow to the brain, it can render someone unconsious in seconds.
Investigators believe that Dan howard then removed kendy’s clothing and carried her lifeless body into the bathroom where he filled the bathtub , put the gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger ,the gun was found in the water with her .
the bullet had a downward trajectory, but self- inficted gunshot wounds usually have an upward or horizontal trajectory.
and there wasn’t much bolood at the scene further supporting the theory that the wound occurred after death.
it wasn’t until 2 years after kendy died that Dan was charged with killing her.
one year later…
while his trial was underway, he was arrested at the Spokane international airport for breaking the conditions of his release that prohibited him from going within 2 miles of the airport.
In march of 2024 Dan howard was convicted of second -degree murder and domestic battery at his sentencing hearing he continued to deny that he had killed his wife.
the judge cited a combination of factors that drov Daniel howard to kill kendy including jrsloudy .greed,pride, anger and revenge.
he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder and received an additonal 10 year sentence for domestic battery that will run concurrently.