5 chilling details about Kendy Howard's case

The tiny town of Athol, Idaho was left shocked by the sudden death of Kendy Howard. She had been found dead in her bathtub on a bitterly cold February night in 2021 -- a gunshot wound to her head. It seemed like an especially tragic suicide, but the more that investigators dug, the more chilling it became.

Details of the incident will form the basis for discussion in the next episode of 48 Hours on CBS, titled The Bathtub Murder of Kendy Howard. It will aim at shedding light on the most hazy and mysterious aspects surrounding Kendy's death.

Here are five key details about Kendy Howard's case.

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5 shocking details about Kendy Howard's case

1) The unconventional crime scene

When the first responders arrived at the Howard residence, Kendy was found inside the bathtub with a gunshot wound to her head. The pistol rested partially submerged in the water. Initially, the scene appeared to be a suicide. However, several quirks presented an aura of suspicion.

There was an over-packed duffle bag. The clothes dryer was running and clean towels. Dan Howard, Kendy's husband, had also showered as evidenced by his newly shaven face. These details did not comport with the usual depression of a suicide scene.

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2) Hypothesis inconsistency

This inconsistency arose during the crime scene examination by Detective Jerry Northrup when investigating whether the death was through suicide. The amount of blood spilled did not match a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Additionally, the post-mortem established that Kendy was strangled before being shot, thus negating the expectation of suicide since it pointed to foul play.

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3) Dan Howard's suspicious behavior

Further suspicion arose with the behavior of Dan Howard on that night as well. Although Dan Howard was having a very miserable time, he did not ever cry and looked very composed.

Dan Howard used to be a state trooper. Being in this job for such a long time, he knew the crime scene and procedure very well. The investigators believe that Dan Howard may have known this to set the scene of the killing as suicide.

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4) Motive for murder

Through friends and family, it was discovered that Kendy had been planning to leave Dan. She had informed them of how she was leaving and beginning her life elsewhere. This motive stood to give Dan a reason to murder Kennedy. The defense claimed Dan murdered Kendy out of fear that she was going to leave him and took her money and goods with her.

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5) Courtroom clash

Three years later, Dan Howard was accused of killing his wife, Kendy. The prosecution used the discrepancies that had emerged in her killing and Dan's suspicious activities.

The defense argued before the court that this was circumstantial evidence and that Dan could have no reason to kill his wife. However, the prosecution presented a strong case as it included motive and the crime scene was well-staged.

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Indeed, the Kendy Howard case initially seemed like a suicide case, but after some probing, it was discovered to be a foul play case. The following episode of 48 Hours on CBS promises to provide justice by considering the evidence that forms the basis of the quest in the case of Kendy Howard.

As the episode unfolds on air, one gets an insight into the hard work put in by investigators as well as the pain that endured in the minds of her loved ones after her death.