Sorry, too, but your wife is faster. No! God damn it! This is 48-year-old Kandi Howard. Just hours earlier, she was arguing with her husband, Dan Howard, about wanting a divorce. If finalized, Kandi would have received nearly $1 million from their marital assets. But that would never happen because 4 days after this footage, officers find Kandi dead in what looks like a self-inflicted tragedy. In my pocket. She's in the bathtub. Yep. No No hurt me. What police don't yet fully realize is that the scene has been meticulously staged by Dan himself. He is a former state trooper who knows exactly how to manipulate a crime scene. And even though officers find troubling clues that are suspicious, it doesn't matter because Dan will get away with murder. Yeah, he's upset, but it's not real water works or anything. Why did she think you killed her mom? Well, you did, didn't you? No, I didn't. I'm just afraid he'll get away with it. Why? Cuz he is smart. They haven't caught him yet. It's the night of January 29th, and Kandi had just called the police after a heated argument with Dan over her wanting a divorce. After the welfare check that night, officers arranged for Kandi to stay with her parents, hoping it would keep her safe. But just 5 days later, Kandi left her parents' house and returned to the home she shared with Dan. That same night at 10:43 p.m., Dan called 911 reporting something that would send police to racing back to the house. 911, what's the address? 911. What's the matter? >> [laughter] >> Okay, take a deep breath for me. Take a deep breath. Okay. Hold on for me. Okay, take a deep breath. Take a deep breath. Get somebody there. What's their number, sir? Officers are dispatched immediately after the 911 call, but as soon as they arrive, they realize something is very off. Sir? COME ON OUT. COME on out, sir. Over there. Come on. Over here. I'm on it. Stay out here, okay? Somebody stay with him. Sir, where is she? Sir? She's upstairs in the bathroom. >> She's upstairs in the bathroom? Okay, upstairs in the bathroom. Let's go. What? In my pocket. She's in the bathtub. Sending medical. Got that. Yep. Central 21. She have any No No heartbeat. Lividity? Not seeing anything. Officers found 48-year-old Candy [music] Howard dead in the bathtub with a gunshot wound to her head. The presumed weapon, a .22 caliber pistol, was recovered from the bottom of the tub submerged in bloody water. Officers stepped outside to deliver the tragic news to Dan. Hey Dan. Hey Dan. Dan. Hey Dan, I'm Deputy Wheeler. I'm sorry to inform you but your wife is passed away. Dan, I know this is hard but when when is the last time that you saw your wife alive? Did you call 911 when you when you heard the gunshot? No. Okay. I didn't Well, I don't know. Well, help us out with the time frame, all right? I didn't think it was a gunshot. I was downstairs. TV going. It sounded like something hit the floor or something. I don't know. When was the last time you saw your wife before she went to go take a bath? Hour and Hour and a half? An hour and a half? >> Okay. >> Hour and a half or something. I don't know. Okay. I really don't know. I'm out of it. It's It's about 11:15. Maybe 9:30. 9:30 or so? Okay. Dan appears heartbroken, crying uncontrollably and barely able to breathe, which explains why when asked about the timeline of events, he struggles to put together a clear account. However, officers find Dan's claim that he mistook the sound of a gunshot for something falling strange. After all, Dan was a former Idaho State Police Trooper with firearms proficiency and tactical training, so it seemed unlikely that he wouldn't recognize the sound of a gunshot. But, the most [music] interesting detail officers have overlooked is that Dan actually has a violent criminal history. In 2013, after discovering Kandi had an affair with a neighbor, he confronted the man at his workplace and threatened to kill him. He later faced stalking and harassment charges, including tampering with the man's vehicles and firing shots at his house. Dan pleaded guilty, served 4 months in jail, and resigned from the Idaho State Police. This daunting information would be the first sign that Dan's claims may not be as truthful as they initially appeared. Back at the house, police continued examining the scene. And while nothing screams foul play yet, it's when they start speaking with Dan that things shift. His strange mannerisms, unconvincing sobs, and a few careless wordings make officers genuinely suspicious, hinting that his grief may be more of an act than reality. I mean, it's Yeah, he's upset, but it's not real water works or anything. He's freaking out and like gagging, but This one's interesting because as I'm talking, I can't take him as a suspect or anything, but us in our line of work, we kind of know what to do and what not to do. But, it's funny that funny how that the gun's in the bathroom. Can we get fingerprints off of that? So, in this case, GSR? When I was interviewing him, he was like, "Well, what are they doing?" And then he's like, "That's a stupid question. I shouldn't have asked that." Officers noticed Dan making sobbing noises and covering his face, yet no tears were ever visible. To make matters more complicated, the gun Kandi allegedly used was found submerged in the bathtub, making it impossible to confirm through DNA who pulled the trigger. And soon, officers would find more suspicious details inside the house. Okay, I'm out of here. Hold that. And then That's one of the clothes. That's a purse. That's a Victoria's Secret duffel bag. And a Victoria's Secret duffel bag. >> And then there's a list [laughter] of stuff. I think we have your hair. I got you. There's a list here of uh I'm used to service something. >> things. What officers just discovered is game-changing. They find a packed duffel bag with women's clothes and divorce papers showing Candi would have received nearly $1 million if the split went through. It looks like she was ready to leave, but instead, she turned up dead under circumstances that appeared self-inflicted. But what officers discovered next would take that suspicion to a whole new level. No. I've got to turn the water off. It It feels like it might still be a little warm. Well, a little warm cuz people don't take warm baths. They take hot baths. So, it'd be interesting to get the temp of that water now because it's going to change. Well, in the the bubbles are still So, it's it's kind of looks like it's fairly fresh. And you got the bubbles and all that stuff in your pictures. Yeah, cuz the bubbles are still They're popping right now. Dan claims that Candi went to the bathroom about an hour and a half to 2 hours earlier. But by that time, the bubbles should have already disappeared. This suggested that the bathtub had been filled recently, contradicting Dan's timeline. Additionally, there is almost no blood in the water despite a point-blank gunshot wound, the dryer running with freshly washed items, and no clothes anywhere in the bathroom or bedroom. If Candi had walked into that tub, she would have had to cross the house naked, something that made no sense for a woman planning a divorce. Taken together, these details made officers not just suspicious anymore. They now had enough reason to doubt Dan's story, and it was time to put him under pressure. Dan was brought back into the house to wait for detectives, and it didn't take long for his behavior to grow even more unusual. I'll have a chair. >> Can I ask you who I need in here? Hold on. Here's the deal. Okay. I'll tell you what the deal is, man. The deal is I I Okay, then you're then you're going to listen to what we have to say, all right? Right now, this is a crime scene. We don't want anybody that's not here to come. If he wants to park down the street and sit in his car until he's allowed to come in, that's fine. He just can't come in with us. You can pull up that way when he gets here. I will. Please. I've no problem with that. A pathetic way to die. What's up? A pathetic way to die. None at all, sir. I I can't imagine I can't imagine what you're going through right now. Here, you got a drink of water. Hey, you just can't wash your hands. Yeah. I'll get the boys a cup of coffee. No, I I I appreciate it. Thank you. I got an entire thermos set. I'm sure I'll make it through by the shift. All right. Thank you very much, though. Thanks, officer. >> want to be the total [ __ ] Officers noticed Dan's dramatic mood swings. One minute, he was distraught, covering his face, and the next, he was calmly offering deputies coffee. His self-pity seemed more focused on himself than on the tragedy of his wife's death. These shifts could be signs of over-control slipping. A man trying to manage impressions only for stress to reveal sudden lapses into irritation or inappropriate normalcy. Finally, the detectives arrived and Dan's questioning began. You want to have a seat at the bar or something where we can have something flat to write on here? No, I mean would you mind coming over? So, what what was going on tonight? Uh-huh. Marital problems. Mhm. And uh >> [snorts] >> and she flipped on She realized that the house has to be liquidated, too. >> [snorts] >> She went upstairs and she always takes a bath before bed. Every So, I heard the bath running and and uh I heard a something hit the floor, I guess. Didn't sound like a shot. I didn't think it was a shot. >> [snorts] >> I sat down there watching TV, drank a beer, looked at my list, trying to think, you know. >> [snorts] >> I don't know. I guess I lost track of time. But I come upstairs. Like the Is this uh divorce has already been decided or is it >> No, it was It's open for discussion? About her. She wants a divorce one day, she doesn't the next. She brought home divorce papers, just preliminary ones. >> [snorts] >> Was this room the night we got called out here? No, I don't know if she had them then. First she It was okay and then and then the the and then it wasn't. I And she she didn't She didn't like the idea of uh >> [snorts] >> liquidating the house down there. Kandi had a boyfriend and planned to move in with him. She had already put down a deposit on a house for them. He claimed that Candy didn't want to split the new house with him in the divorce and hoped to keep it for herself. Since the down payment had been made while they were still married, the house was considered a marital asset. However, this didn't make sense if she had taken her own life. In fact, it suggested she was looking forward to the future and was ready to move on. Detectives asked Dan about the gun and how Candy obtained it, but he quickly steered the conversation towards something that would support his version of events instead. Okay. Where did the gun come from? Oh. I bought that for her years ago. And uh I had it in in my safe till uh Sunday. We had the you know, more so less time. We finished it tonight. And all the less, she's going to let me have my safe and guns. You know, and when she fixed up the net I'd fix up the net. One of the things she wanted was her gun. So, I went and got her gun. And put it where? Where was that? Uh I think I just put it on the counter here, where up here. You know, we was downstairs here. That's when we had our first problems. And uh she's upstairs with that gun. We had our problems. I told her, I said, "This is not going to work out." She held it to her head. She put it to her head. She freaked me out. And uh I thought for sure here we go. And uh dropped the gun. Shot through the floor. Well, shot through the floor and hit the tile by the wood stove. And so I repaired some things downstairs. I took the gun away. Same gun? Same gun. Did she ever make any statements that had you concerned about her well-being? Yeah, about every day. Well, it's just she's so emotional. She tells me we we should split up and I agree with her. And she'd go the other way. How long's this been going on? This This hitch, last hitch it were pretty distant, you know. I knew something was up, but Last month, then? Yeah, whatever it turned out to be. The detectives pressed further, asking if Kandi had been cheating on him again. They were aware of the 2013 incident with the neighbor and used these questions to probe for any hidden motives that might point to Dan as the suspect, a way to tie him to the crime. Did you suspect she was cheating on you again? I asked her that. I asked her that to give me closure, cuz, you know, that would be a She said she hadn't been. Do you believe her? Man, her behavior, I don't know. It just doesn't add up. Okay. Did she ever talk about wanting a divorce last time? No. She didn't do that? I left. And then uh She asked for me back and I did. I came back. By now, they were growing more suspicious of Dan, but they still didn't have enough to prove his guilt. It seemed like for every question they asked, he had an answer ready. So, detectives pressed forward, relying on his cooperation so far and hoping he wouldn't request an attorney. We can understand some of our concerns here. You guys are going through a tough time. Someone ends up deceased. There's only two possible reasons, you understand? Not accusing of anything, we just got to take a look at everything. I never touched her. You want to sit down for me, please? I mean, I don't have to tell you. You've been in this job long enough. You know as as well as we do. So, I'm going to I'm going to plainly ask you. Did you shoot your wife? No. This conversation is going to be over if we keep the lying up. You know we got to ask the question. Yeah, you know as well as we do. Dan outright denied any involvement in Kandi's death, but detectives were growing increasingly convinced he had a role. There were just too many things that didn't add up. The packed [music] duffel bag, the freshly filled bath, Dan's odd behavior, his criminal past, and most importantly, Kandi's worrying claims from days earlier. Even so, they had no conclusive evidence to hold him accountable until Dan requested to call his and Kandi's children to inform them of their mother's passing. But that phone call wouldn't go the way Dan expected, and for the detectives, it would change everything. Where did she shoot the the hole in the floor? I'm not home. They are up here. What do you mean you don't hear them? They are They're right here. What? What are you talking about? Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Wow. No. I'm not I'm not Laura. Full disclosure of liquidity in the house houses, both of them. And uh Okay. Dan's stepdaughter immediately accused him of Candy's death, a detail that caught detectives' attention. It was especially concerning because if Dan were truly innocent, it would have been so unusual for her to start blaming him so directly. So, detectives used that opportunity to directly confront him. She just accused you of this. No. That's his side. What is all of it about? Why would she do that, Dan? Why would she think you did this? I don't know what she knows. Dan, I was across from her and I couldn't hear. I don't know. She's angry. Why would she think you did this? What in the world would give her that impression? There's no way in the world she believes in my mom. With what? Who believes in my mom would do that? They also don't want to believe that their dad would do it. >> Yeah. So, why would she I haven't heard somebody that angry in a long time. She's She's a little short. I'll be honest with you, I was not expecting anything like that. Me neither. >> [snorts] >> Dan, I think you should help your wife. I have no idea. Cuz I got to tell you that phone call put chills down my spine. You did it, didn't you? No, I didn't. I didn't think so, but now, after listening to that, I think you did, didn't you? How the hell do you How the hell She doesn't know anything. She wasn't here? She knows what Well, what does She knows that there is a divorce going >> What does she know? She knows something. She wouldn't have reacted the way she did. But, I don't know what it is. She obviously had concerns if that was her knee-jerk. Okay. Well, You understand where we're coming from? Cuz I have talked to my daughter about that. I don't You think You think all you want. I think you did it. No, I didn't. Despite detectives' pressure, Dan didn't budge, insisting he had nothing to do with Candy's death, and at the time, they lacked the evidence to prove otherwise. He seemed to have covered his tracks meticulously, and for now, he remained free. Complicating matters, the coroner's exam found nothing pointing to homicide. With no immediate proof, detectives began a long, methodical investigation. Knowing they had to build a case from the ground up, they obtained a search warrant and collected evidence from the scene, noting suspicious clues like the running dryer, the lack of blood, and Dan's odd demeanor. Still, the scene resembled a possible suicide. Most importantly, they couldn't arrest Dan due to the lack of immediate probable cause. Without autopsy results, forensic evidence, or witness testimonies, arresting him prematurely would risk the case falling apart in court. Dan's claims, including his insistence that Candy had been idle, needed to be disproven. The only ones who could help them challenge these claims were Candy's children. So, detectives brought them in for interviews, hoping to use their statements against Dan later on. What they didn't anticipate was that one of the kids would have a very different perspective on what happened that night. So, when we talked the other day, I mean, I guess today, what do you think? What are your thoughts? What do you think happened? I know he shot her. I know. I don't feel like there's probably going to be anything to prove that. I know how he is. He's would have thought that out. I feel like he probably was going to do that Friday and when she woke up, he didn't have his chance that he wanted and she went back home and she shouldn't have went back home. Would it be normal, I mean, if she, you know, being one to flip out over this house, to go upstairs, undress, somehow make it from bedroom to the bathroom naked, because there were no clothing in the bathroom? >> That's not That's not super weird. No. >> That's She always takes She takes a bath almost every night. It's odd for her to not take a bath. That would be weird. >> Okay. Pour a bubble bath, not just a bath, but didn't climb put bubbles in it. Put her hair up so her hair doesn't get wet. No, that's also normal. She didn't She didn't want her hair wet ever. in the bath. >> And then get in the bathtub. and commit Would she There's a problem with that and it's the what bugs me the most. I've thought about it several times. She's getting her done and her done. She obviously has a little bit of issues with how her body looks. There's no way in hell she'd be okay with people finding her naked. >> [music] >> Candy's daughter was fully convinced that Dan had killed her mother. Although everything about that night seemed to align with how things normally went, her daughter knew something was off. Even with everything seeming as normal as it could have been, Candy's daughter was certain Dan was responsible for her mother's death. Meanwhile, when detectives interviewed Candy and Dan's son, they were surprised by his reaction because unlike his sister, he believed his father was completely innocent. Um, she was on the phone talking with with people right up near the man. That she talked to you before? Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. And there was nothing mentioned, you know, about being depressed. In fact, it was the opposite. >> Yeah. So, that that seems a little odd. I don't I don't know. I don't think he did it. She wrote a will on Friday when she was down [music] there. I don't know if you guys heard that yet or anything. That's what her boat man yelled at me. She packed a bag, left, and then came back the next day, even though she was super scared. And she wrote a will that day, though? That that That's almost like doesn't make sense to me. It's like, why would you go down there for a day, write a will, come back to someone that you're scared that you're deathly afraid of with a will in your hand, then? After the interviews and evidence collection, a few key details stood out in Dan's favor. Details that carried heavy legal weight. Candy's will seemed to support his claim that her death was a suicide. With no concrete evidence, Dan [music] wasn't charged. For nearly 2 years, he lived as if nothing had happened, believing he had gotten away with murder. But investigators, convinced [music] he was involved, kept working day and night to find something that would finally [music] tie him to the crime. That's when they made their breakthrough. Investigators realized that Candy had likely been killed before the gunshot was even fired. Experts reviewing the autopsy confirms that the angle of her wound was inconsistent with a self-inflicted shot, as it was slightly downward, suggesting someone else had pulled the trigger. She was already dead by the time the gun went off, which explained the unusual lack of blood in the bathtub. Adding to the suspicion, investigators noted that the dryer had been started about a minute after Dan's 911 call, an apparent attempt to destroy evidence. There was no escaping the evidence. Dan's time was up. Dan was arrested in 2023 and his trial began in 2024. The trial lasted about 2 weeks, during which 62 witnesses testified. After 8 hours of deliberation, the jury returned with a guilty verdict, ensuring that Dan would be held accountable for Kandi's tragic death. Dan killed Kandi because he couldn't bear to lose her and their shared wealth. Her desire to leave him, along with the possibility of losing everything, pushed him to commit murder instead of letting her go. Dan Howard was found guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of Kandi Howard, as well as the related domestic [music] battery charge. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder, with an additional 10-year sentence for the domestic battery charge. This ensured that he would spend the rest of his life behind bars, never able to harm anyone again.