Latest news with #Facetimed
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
Huntsville man pleads guilty, sentenced for killing wife in 2021 during family game night
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A 46-year-old Huntsville man will spend five years in prison after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing his wife in 2021. Russell Howard was charged with killing his wife Jamie on February 6, 2021. He was initially charged with murder, but that charge was reduced to manslaughter last December. Former Killen police officer pleads guilty to sexual assault, sexual exploitation of child He pleaded guilty for the shooting death of his wife, and Judge Comer handed him a 20-year sentence, split to serve five years followed by three years of probation. HPD investigators said at the time of the shooting that her death happened during a domestic situation. However, both the state and defense said in court Wednesday that there is no evidence to indict that there had been a dispute. Russell Howard said that his family was having a game night, playing dominoes and drinking the night of the shooting. He had friends Facetimed him and he was showing them the gun before he threw it on their bed before returning to the game night. When the couple went to bed, he noticed the gun still in the bed, and this is when he said it went off and hit Jamie Howard. He said he attempted to perform CPR on her. Florence Police say man's attempted murder charge upgraded after victim dies The state argued that he broke every cardinal rule of gun safety and that with his 15-year military career, he should've known better. Russell Howard said he wasn't trained with the gun and that he didn't handle one like it during his time in the service. 'I was at fault for having the weapon without training,' said Howard. Russell apologized to Jamie's family before being sentenced. During the hearing, Jamie Howard's daughter and sister testified to how her death has changed their life and the trauma they have had to go through. 'He robbed my sister of her life and her children of their mother,' said Howard's sister Latesha state argued that Russell should be sentenced to 15 years in the Alabama Department of Corrections, while his defense attorney Patrick Arrington asked Judge Comer to sentence him to probation. 'He made a tragic error that he will live with the rest of his life,' said Arrington. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
Family releases more details about mom found dead in sunken car
CORDOVA, Tenn. — A Cordova man is looking for answers after his wife was found dead in a large retention pond in east Shelby County Friday night. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office said Kristen Fundo, 35, was still wearing her seat belt when divers found her body inside her submerged vehicle at Grays Hollow Drive South and Grays Mill Drive off Walnut Grove Road. Woman's body found submerged in Shelby County pond SCSO said there were no signs of foul play. Her husband said the medical examiner's office told him there was no trauma to her body. Michael Fundo, who is a private contractor in Saudi Arabia, was out of the country when it happened. He said that just an hour earlier, his wife had been at a Collierville restaurant with a friend. He said he Facetimed her while she was at her table. Fundo said he had been tracking her phone as she left the restaurant and became alarmed when she didn't answer the phone or reply to his text messages. He said he saw her drive toward the pond around 8 p.m. Fundo said that was the same time her phone died and when the sheriff's office received a call about a vehicle being submerged in the water. 'It was near my brother's neighborhood. I don't know if that is where she was trying to go,' said Fundo. 'I called my brother to see if our car was there.' Fundo also sent a text to his wife saying he loved her, he hoped she was okay, and he was panicking really bad. Fundo said his family is devastated by his wife's death. Kristen worked at Christ Methodist, and the couple's daughter attended the Christian elementary school. He said the school has been very supportive of the family, waived his daughter's tuition, and brought in counselors for students and faculty. 'No daughter should ever grow up without a mom,' Fundo said in a Facebook Live post after returning to Tennessesee. A family member has started a GoFundMe to help with funeral and travel expenses. Fundo said he wants to let his daughter stay in her school and will be going back and forth from Memphis to his job in the Middle East. A cause of death has not been released. Fundo said he was still waiting on a toxicology report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
