A Lenexa man charged in the deaths of his mother and aunt was transferred from a Missouri jail to the Johnson County Adult Detention Center on Friday to face murder charges.
Lenexa Police say that Luke Anthony Howard, 34, is responsible for the shooting deaths of his mother, Valerie Howard, 63, and his aunt, Joyce Austin, 71, which occurred in early February at the home where both women and Luke Howard lived.
His mother and aunt were found shot to death around 5 a.m. on Feb. 12 inside a home owned by Austin in the 15400 block of West 90th Street.
Prosecutors say that all three lived together in the house, and his aunt was trying to evict Luke Howard at the time of the killings.
Lenexa Police said they responded to the house for a welfare check when they discovered both women dead inside.
Liberty, Missouri, police arrested Howard that morning after he walked into a Walgreens store with blood on his clothes, telling two employees that he needed to turn himself in.
According to a criminal affidavit, Howard told Liberty Police that he had shot his aunt because she was evicting him from her house, and he also admitted to shooting his mother.
The affidavit said Lenexa Police as well as representatives from Johnson County Mental Health were called to the Lenexa home multiple times in the days leading up to the shooting.
Howard had been held at the Clay County Jail since his arrest. He made his first court appearance in Johnson County on Monday afternoon.
He has been charged with two counts of intentional and premeditated first-degree murder. A public defender is representing him.
Howard’s next court appearance is a preliminary hearing, set for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 9.
