Luke Anthony Howard, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of intentional second-degree murder on Wednesday, May 13
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Valerie-A.-Howard-Joyce-E.-Austin-51526-c11c210082a74887b26d00110e75e110.jpg "Valerie A. Howard, Joyce E. Austin")
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NEED TO KNOW
- Luke Anthony Howard, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of intentional second-degree murder on Wednesday, May 13
- He was accused of fatally shooting his mother Valerie A. Howard, 63, and his 71-year-old aunt, Joyce E. Austin
- The three of them shared a home in Lenexa, Kan., at the time of the double murder
A Kansas man has pleaded guilty to two counts of intentional second-degree murder for the 2025 killing of his mother and aunt after he was served an eviction notice at the home they shared.
Luke Anthony Howard, 35, was initially charged with first-degree murder in the case, according to court documents. He entered his guilty plea to charges of second-degree murder on Wednesday, May 13, as part of a deal with prosecutors, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's Office.
Howard was accused of fatally shooting his mother, Valerie A. Howard, 63, and his 71-year-old aunt, Joyce E. Austin.
The two women were former sisters-in-law and shared a home in the 15400 block of West 90th Street in Lenexa, Kan., with Howard also living at the residence, KMBC reported.
Police said officers had stopped by the home twice for domestic disturbance incidents in the days leading up to the double murder, according to the outlet.
Credit: Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
The murders came to light on Feb. 12, 2025, when Howard showed up at a Walgreens store in Liberty wearing bloody clothes and told employees at the pharmacy that he wanted to turn himself in, according to a court affidavit, the Kansas City Star reported.
He later confessed to police that he murdered his aunt and mother because they had evicted him, the affidavit alleges, per the outlet.
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According to KMBC, citing the affidavit, Austin had served him with a 30-day eviction notice on Feb. 11.
The day before, Austin called police reporting that she was scared of Howard, according to the affidavit, the Star reported.
Valerie also alleged that her son had been violent towards her a few years earlier, which prompted her and Austin to lock themselves inside their bedrooms "as much as possible," per the affidavit, according to KMBC.
Valerie was found on the living room floor with gunshot wounds to her abdomen. Austin was discovered deceased on the couch, per the outlet.
According to an online obituary, Valerie was a "huge Kansas City Chiefs fan, loved camping, boating, and soaking up the soothing sounds of the ocean waves" and "loved traveling with her best friend and soul-sister Joyce."