Man Who Strangled Mom With Bungee Cord for "Sleeping Around" Learns Fate
Caraker was strangled to death with a bungee cord in Sept. 2023 after returning home from a date, according to detectives with the Troy Police Department
Howard had been growing 'angrier and angrier and angrier" about his mother allegedly "sleeping around," said Assistant State's Attorney Luke Yager in his closing statement
An Illinois man has learned his fate after a jury convicted him of strangling his mother to death with a bungee cord.
Neil Howard, 46, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for strangling his mother Norma Caraker, 60, after she returned home from a date, according to a news release from the Madison County State's Attorney's Office.
Assistant State's Attorney Luke Yager spoke about Howard's alleged motive for committing the crime during his closing statement at trial, saying: "This defendant had had enough of his mother. He'd had enough of her sleeping around. He'd had enough of her not giving him money.'
His mother's dating was making Howard 'angrier and angrier and angrier, until he got drunk enough that he couldn't take it anymore," Yager told jurors.
That is when Howard "wrapped that cord around her neck and he pulled, until she stopped breathing," Yager said.
At the time of his mother's murder, Howard lived in the basement of her home in Troy, a city located close to the state's Missouri border and approximately 25 miles northeast of St. Louis.
Police responded to the home at 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 13, 2023 after Howard called 911 and said that he was nervous because his mother was unresponsive, according to the release from the MCSA.
The release said that officers arrived on the scene to find Caraker's lifeless body in her bed with a bungee cord fastened around her neck.An investigation into Caraker's death determined that she was likely murdered in her bedroom shortly after returning from a date, said a news release from the Troy Police Department.
Howard was convicted of murder following a trial that lasted two weeks earlier this year, with jurors deliberating for three hours before returning with their verdict.
Yager asked the judge to send Howard to prison for 45 years at his sentencing hearing, saying that the convicted murderer had previously been arrested for incidents involving other family members and at least one order of protection, a copy of which was obtained by PEOPLE.
"It is clear that the defendant is a violent individual, and he's especially violent toward women," Yager said in court.
In the end, Circuit Judge Amy Maher sentenced Howard to 30 years in prison. She also said in her order that Howard cannot be released until he serves that sentence in full, eliminating any possibility of early release.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
Read the original article on People
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Court briefs: Man charged in hit-and-run and serial burglar faces sentencing
A Calumet City man is charged with a Hammond hit-and-run. Daquan Howard, 25, was charged July 10 with aggravated battery, battery by means of a deadly weapon, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, criminal recklessness, leaving the scene of an accident with moderate for serious bodily injury, and misdemeanor domestic battery. He has not been apprehended. When arrested, he is ordered held on a $6,000 cash bond. A woman told police Howard, her ex-boyfriend, showed up in a red Mazda as she and her new boyfriend were walking near State Line Avenue and Webb Street. Howard hit her three times in the back of the head after they argued, she said. When the couple tried to walk away, Howard hit them with his car, then took off, an affidavit alleges. Anyone with information can contact Hammond Police at 219-853-6490. An alleged serial burglar faces up to four years in prison after signing a plea deal. Christian Felkamp, 24, of Gary, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of burglary. He admitted breaking into Robert Henry Corporation's property on Jan. 25 in the 2100 block of Southlake Mall in Hobart and stealing a trailer with four spools of NIPSCO wire. In a separate incident, he admitted to sawing through the roof of Fantasy Gentleman's Club, 3850 179th Street in Hammond on Nov. 22 to try stealing cash from the ATM. As part of the deal, he has to repay nearly $7,000 to the Robert Henry Corporation, $2,300 to the strip club, $1,000 to Midwest PGM Recycling, and more than $28,000 to NIPSCO. In exchange, Lake County prosecutors agreed to dismiss several other theft charges. His sentencing is scheduled Wednesday. Felkamp has four other pending burglary and auto theft cases in Porter County. A Munster woman faces up to 12 years in a plea deal in connection with her boyfriend's death. Marysa Roriguez, 22, pleaded guilty July 7 to burglary. Authorities allege her boyfriend Alijah Adams broke into a Hammond apartment on June 1, 2024 around 2:30 a.m. to the 600 block of 169th Street. The man living there allegedly shot Adams dead after Adams beat him. He has not been charged. Rodriguez admitted in documents that she 'worked in concert' with Adams. Specifically, she was there to fight a woman there. Adams' family has contested this. According to an autopsy report they provided to the Post-Tribune, Adams was shot in the head, twice in the back, once in the groin and thigh. That could not be independently verified by the Lake County Coroner's Office Adams was charged in an unrelated case in connection with the Jan. 13, 2020 death of Julio Salinas, 39, of East Chicago. That case was pleaded down to Level 5 felony assisting a criminal last year. His co-defendant Josue Anaya was gunned down in 2022.
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
2 killed, 1 hurt in "domestic related" shooting in Minneapolis, police say
Two people are dead and another is injured after a shooting in Minneapolis that police say was "domestic related." The Minneapolis Police Department gave few other details about the shooting, which happened on the 100 block of 59th Street East just before 12:40 a.m. Tuesday. Police said more information would be released on Tuesday. About two hours earlier, two Minneapolis officers were hurt while responding to a separate domestic call on the 900 block of 21st Avenue South. The officers were treated at a hospital and released. This story will be updated. Domestic Violence Resources: For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
2 Minneapolis police officers injured while responding to domestic abuse call
Two Minneapolis officers were injured while responding to a domestic abuse call Monday night, the city's police department said. The officers were hurt on the 900 block of 21st Avenue South after 10:30 p.m., according to police. They were taken to a hospital, treated and released. The suspect is in custody at the hospital, police said. Few other details were available, but police said more information would be released Tuesday. This story will be updated. Domestic Violence Resources: For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.
