Vanderburgh County Murder and Intimidation Arrest Warrant issued for man involved in Saturday Warrick County death investigation

Evansville Police have obtained a Murder and Intimidation arrest warrant for MICHAEL HOWELL. Howell is currently in custody in Warrick County following a shooting and car chase on Saturday. The chase began after Howell crashed his truck and the body of Beverly Karns was thrown from the truck. A witness to the crash called 911 when Howell ran from the scene. As the witness waited for police to arrive, Howell returned to the scene and shot him. Howell then stole a car from a near-by home and led police on a chase into Dubois County. He was taken into custody at the end of the chase.
Information gathered after his arrest led police to believe that Beverly Karns had been shot and killed in Evansville. Although Howell gave inconstant statements, Evansville investigators were able to locate the crime scene at 640 Maxwell.
Investigators spoke to two adults at the Maxwell Address and learned that Howell and Karns knew each other and had been in the home on Saturday morning. The two were in a front room while the adults and several kids were in another room.
The adults heard a gunshot and went into the front room and saw Karns body on the floor and Howell was holding a handgun. Karns appeared to have shot in the head. When they said they were going to call the police, Howell told them not to. Both feared Howell would kill them and the kids if they called the police, so they did not call 911. Howell placed Karns’ body into the back of her truck and fled the scene. Investigators are still working to determine the events that led up to the murder.
Evansville Police will coordinate with Warrick County officials and serve the Murder and Intimidation warrant in the near future. The adults that were in the home when the shooting happened are considered victims of intimidation in this investigation and are not facing any charges.