Arkansan convicted in couple's 1997 slayings released on parole

Timothy Lamont Howard, 48, was released on parole Wednesday after serving two decades for his conviction in the 1997 deaths of an Arkansas couple and the attempted murder of their baby.
Timothy Lamont Howard, 48, was released on parole Wednesday after serving two decades for his conviction in the 1997 deaths of an Arkansas couple and the attempted murder of their baby.

An Arkansas man convicted of killing a couple and attempting to kill their baby in 1997 received parole Wednesday after nearly two decades behind bars, prison officials said.

Timothy Lamont Howard, 48, was released shortly after 1 p.m., according to Arkansas Community Correction spokeswoman Dina Tyler.

Howard is expected to report to the parole office Thursday, Tyler said. He is on maximum suspension, which requires employment, periodic drug testing, no association with the victim or the victim's family and obedience to a curfew.

These terms are standard given Howard's conviction and the number of years Howard served, she said.

Howard's suspension will likely end sometime in 2035, Tyler said. The Parole Board could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Howard was found guilty of two counts of capital murder at his first trial in 1999, but the conviction was overturned in 2013 after a hearing on possible problems with DNA testing.

In 2015, Howard was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Ashdown residents Brian and Shannon Day, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported. He was also found guilty of one count of attempted murder of the couple's son, Trevor.

He was reportedly sentenced to 38 years after his second trial but received credit for 18 years he had already spent behind bars.

Upcoming Events