The Thurston County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who saw Bernard Howell III or his silver Nissan pickup truck in the Tenino area yesterday afternoon or evening to call 360-786-5531 or Crime Stoppers at 360-493-2222
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
OLYMPIA – The Tenino man arrested last night when he was pulled over with dead woman inside his pickup truck saw a judge this afternoon who set bail at $750,000.
Bernard K. Howell III, 26, is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder, but has not been charged.
Bernard K. Howell III
A declaration supporting probable cause filed by the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office reports the woman bundled in a sleeping bag in the passenger compartment of Howell’s truck was partially unclothed.
Howell told a deputy he found the woman dead and laying beside a trail in Tenino and engaged in sex with her, and was going to save her family the cost of a funeral by burying her in a swamp, the declaration alleges.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John M. Jones told the judge this afternoon Howell has a history of mental health problems. Both Jones and a defense attorney suggested Judge Christine Pomeroy be prepared to allow Howell to be evaluated by doctors from Western State Hospital after he is formally charged.
Howell, who said he works for the Tenino Meat Co. has no criminal history, according to Patrick O’Connor, who represented him from the Office of Assigned Counsel.
An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow. Authorities have not revealed what they suspect as the cause of death except to say it was homicidal violence.
Car keys and a wallet with business cards identifying its owner as a 60-year-old woman were found in Howell’s pickup truck, according to the declaration. The Thurston County Office this morning reported the Toyota RAVE4 they found on state Route 507 belongs to a Yelm woman who has not been been seen since yesterday morning.
The Thurston County Coroner’s Office has not yet confirmed the identity of the body.
Authorities report that Howell said he found the body when he went for a walk yesterday afternoon on the bicycle path known as the Yelm to Tenino Trail. The sheriff’s office erroneously reported earlier today it was the Chehalis Western Trail.
He also said he took $11 and her car keys and drove her vehicle around for several hours before returning with plastic bags, a sleeping bags, zip ties, bungie cords and a 10 pound weight.
Detectives found what they believe is the crime scene on the bike trail, just east of Churchill Road about 4 o’clock this morning. Blood and other evidence there were documented, according to the declaration.
Howell said he had no part in her death, the declaration reports.
Chief Criminal Deputy Jim Chamberlain of the sheriff’s office said he expects detectives will revisit the case of Nancy Moyer, a 36-year-old woman who went missing from her Tenino home last year, with Howell in mind. However, they have no evidence linking Howell to Moyer, Chamberlain said.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who saw the suspect yesterday or last night, or his vehicle, in the Tenino area to call 360-786-5531 or Crime Stoppers at 360-493-2222.
The photo released of the silver Nissan pickup truck shows a freezer in the back. There was no evidence of human remains inside the freezer, Chamberlain said.
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This news story has been corrected since it was first posted. The age of the woman whose wallet was found in Howell’s truck was initially incorrectly reported as one year younger than she really was.
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For more details, read today’s earlier news story about last night’s arrest near the elementary school in Tenino by scrolling down or clicking here.
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