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Bryan
Nathan HOWER
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics:
Parricide - Killed
his wife because he feared she would leave, take children
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: June 11, 2010
Date of arrest: Same day
Date of birth: April 10, 1977
Victim profile:
Bonnie Lynn Hower, 33 (his wife)
Method of murder:
Strangulation
Location: Lakeland, Polk County, Florida, USA
Status:
Sentenced to life in prison on August 30, 2011
Lakeland Man Sentenced to Life for Strangling
Wife
By Jason Geary - TheLedger.com
August 31, 2011
A jury rejected a Lakeland man's claim that he strangled his wife in
self- defense and found him guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder.
Jurors spent more than three hours deliberating before reaching a
decision in the trial of Bryan Hower.
Shortly after the verdict was announced, Circuit Judge Donald Jacobsen
sentenced Bryan Hower to life imprisonment for the killing of
33-year-old Bonnie Hower.
As a bailiff was fingerprinting Bryan Hower, he turned to his wife's
family members and apologized.
Bryan Hower, 34, was arrested after his wife's remains were discovered
June 11, 2010, within a wooded area behind the couple's home on
Timberlake Road West.
Their 10-year-old daughter had been worried after her mother
disappeared, and her father began acting strangely, according to
investigative reports. The girl called her mother's uncle, who
reported Bonnie Hower missing. A deputy searching the backyard found
her body and purse dumped in a hole where the Hower family typically
got rid of dead animals.
On Tuesday, Bryan Hower testified that he didn't mean to kill his
wife, and he was trying to stop her from attacking him during an
argument over who would have custody of their two children.
Hower testified that he disarmed his wife when she grabbed a knife,
but she kept trying to get a wrench as they struggled on the floor of
the garage.
During Wednesday's closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney Paul
Wallace insisted Bryan Hower made a conscious decision to kill his
wife and had enough time to reflect on what he was doing.
Bryan Hower told detectives that he kept choking his wife because he
wouldn't let her take away their children, and he never said he was
afraid she would hurt him, Wallace said.
"There is only one thing on his mind: I've got to do what is necessary
so Bonnie doesn't leave and take my children," said Wallace.
He urged jurors to consider why Bryan Hower hid his wife's body, and
then lied about her whereabouts to family, friends and investigators
if he was acting in self defense.
"It's entirely inconsistent," he said.
Assistant Public Defender Howardene Garrett said her client was trying
to stop Bonnie Hower from attacking him.
"He simply tried to restrain her until she calmed down," said Garrett.
Prosecutors argued Bryan Hower spent minutes choking his wife until
she died. Garrett suggested the choking might have lasted just a
matter of seconds if pressure was applied to a nerve in Bonnie Hower's
neck, and her heart stopped.
Bryan Hower hid her body because he panicked afterwards, she said.
"He couldn't cope," she said. "He didn't know what to do."
Bonnie Hower Murder: Mother Tells of Family's Abuse, Grief
Children have nothing but urn to turn to for comfort after mother's
death
By John Chambliss - TheLedger.com
September 1, 2011
Every day, Hayle, 11, and Tyler, 8, touch their mother's urn to
remember her.
Bonnie Hower, 33, was strangled by her husband — Hayle and Tyler's
father — Bryan Hower, in 2010. Hower's trial ended Wednesday with a
jury finding him guilty of first-degree murder.
And while Hower, 34, will likely serve the rest of his life in prison,
his children also will serve a life sentence of sorts.
"Before the trial started, Hayle asked if she could look at the urn in
her room before falling asleep," said Sheri Galvez, Bonnie Hower's
mother. "All we have left is a beautiful urn."
Galvez, 55, talked Thursday near the wooded area behind the couple's
home on Timberlake Road West where her daughter's remains were
discovered June 11, 2010. She spoke about the children's ongoing grief
and of years of abuse she said Bonnie Hower endured.
Hayle and Tyler have been staying with family friends in Winter Haven
and did not know yet that their father had been sentenced. She said
she planned to explain the sentencing later that day to the children.
She soon will return with the children to Lodi, Calif., where she
lives. Galvez has custody of Hayle and Tyler.
Except for pink curtains in Hayle's old upstairs room, there were few
indications the family of four had lived in the gray, two-story home
for two years.
Galvez and her brother, Tim Ward, were cleaning the house and mowing
the yard Thursday. It was Ward who reported Bonnie Hower missing after
he received an early morning phone call from Hayle who was worried
after her mother went missing, and her father began acting strangely,
according to reports.
A deputy searching the backyard found her body and purse dumped in a
hole where the Hower family typically got rid of dead animals.
Detectives said Bonnie Hower was killed in the garage while the
children were upstairs.
Hower testified that he didn't mean to kill his wife, and he was
trying to stop her from attacking him during an argument over who
would have custody of their two children.
Galvez said she received an apology from Hower after he was sentenced.
"I'm sorry, Sheri," Hower told Galvez as he left the courtroom. "I
really am."
The children have had different reactions about their father.
Tyler, who goes by T, said he hates his dad and calls him a "stupid
head," Galvez said.
Hayle has had a tougher time sorting her emotions.
"She was daddy's special princess," Galvez said. "Hayle is so
conflicted."
Galvez, who often visited her daughter and the children, said she
feels guilty about not confronting her daughter about her troubled
marriage. She saw hints of Bryan Hower's temper when he struck
Bonnie's arm in the car as she attempted to change the radio station.
He often called his wife a jerk and told her to shut up, Galvez said.
"It was always of the utmost importance to Bonnie to keep her family
together," Galvez said. "She was a product of divorce and stayed with
him all the time."
The couple met at a Sacramento, Calif., skating rink when they were
both 14. They were friends for years and married at 19. They later
moved to Reno.
Bryan Hower wanted to leave Reno for Florida about five years ago. In
North Lakeland, Hower worked in real estate and had just started an
excavation business.
Galvez, 55, said her grandchildren continue to remember their mom.
Whenever they eat chocolate ice cream, one of them always points out
that it was Bonnie Hower's favorite flavor.
On Mother's Day, the children drew pictures of their mom. They used
yellow yarn for their mother's blond hair.
"Falling asleep at night, they always say, ‘I love you, Mama,'?"
Galvez said.
Trial Begins for Man Accused of Killing Wife
Lakeland man said he acted in self-defense when he strangled Bonnie
Hower
By Jason Geary - The Ledger
August 24, 2011
Testimony began Wednesday in the trial of a Lakeland man who says he
strangled his wife last year in self-defense.
Bryan Hower, 34, is accused of first-degree murder in the death of
Bonnie Hower.
If convicted as charged, Bryan Hower faces life imprisonment. The
trial continues today.
During Wednesday's opening statements, Assistant State Attorney Hope
Pattey said Bryan and Bonnie Hower had been married for 14 years.
She said Bryan Hower wasn't acting in fear of his life when he
strangled his wife.
Hower told detectives that he was upset his wife was going to leave
with their two children, she said.
"He was not going to allow that to happen," she said.
The couple's 10-year-old daughter was worried because her mother was
missing and her father was acting strangely, according to
investigative reports.
The girl called her mother's uncle, who later reported Bonnie Hower
missing.
A deputy found the body of the 33-year-old woman was found June 11,
2010, in a wooded area behind the couple's home on Timberlake Road
West.
Blair Allen, one of Bryan Hower's two assistant public defenders, told
jurors that her client was acting in self-defense and didn't intend to
kill his wife.
Allen described Bonnie Hower as being capable of "explosive violence"
and "surprising strength."
An argument took place in the garage of the couple's home and
escalated into a deadly confrontation, she said.
Bryan Hower told his wife that the kids wanted to stay with him, she
said.
Bonnie Hower was enraged and grabbed a knife, and Bryan Hower
attempted to disarm and restrain her, Allen said.
Afterwards, Bryan Hower was filled with "shock and horror" that his
wife died, and he didn't know how to tell people what happened, Allen
said.
She said detectives didn't give Bryan Hower a fair opportunity to
explain what took place, but they kept interrupting him and putting
words into his mouth.
Police: Man Strangled Wife
Investigators say Bryan Hower of Lakeland killed Bonnie Hower because
he feared she would leave, take children
By Jeremy Maready - TheLedger.com
June 12, 2010
A Lakeland man was charged Saturday with strangling his wife to death
and discarding her body in a hole he dug in the couple's backyard in
North Lakeland, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Bryan Hower, 33, told investigators he killed Bonnie Lynn Hower, 33,
during a fight because he was afraid she would leave and take the
couple's children, arrest reports said.
Bonnie Lynn Hower was reported missing about 5 p.m. Friday by her
uncle, Timothy Ward, of Jacksonville. Ward said he had been called
about 4 a.m. by Hower's daughter who said her mother was missing and
her father was acting strange, reports said.
Ward left his Jacksonville home and drove to the couple's house at
4010 Timberlake Road W. north of Lakeland, according to investigators.
When he arrived, Bryan Hower told Ward that his wife was "gone," but
told different stories about how she left, so Ward called the
Sheriff's Office, the report said.
In one story, Hower told Ward she "left on foot," but then said he saw
her get into someone's car and leave, the report said.
A deputy searched the area and found Bonnie Hower's body in a 4- to
5-foot deep hole in woods behind the house, according to the report.
Her purse was buried with her and a hand truck was found near the
hole, reports said.
When questioned further, Bryan Hower then told investigators he
strangled his wife about 3 p.m. Thursday after she came at him with a
knife during an argument in the garage of their home, the report said.
Bryan Hower was arrested and charged with murder in his wife's death,
the report said. He is being held without bail in the Polk County
Jail. His first court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. today.
Bryan Hower said the couple was arguing because Bonnie Hower said she
was leaving him and taking the couple's children with her to the
beach, the report said.
When she attacked with a knife, Bryan Hower told investigators, he
blocked it and took her to the ground in a choke hold, where she tried
to grab a wrench.
"He said he covered her mouth with his right hand so the children
would not hear the struggle," the report said. "He said he kept
squeezing her neck until she stopped moving. Hower stated after the
decedent stopped moving, he placed her body in the hole.
"Hower stated multiple times he felt he needed to kill the decedent in
order to prevent her from taking their children away from him."
News of Hower's death Saturday stunned neighbors, who said they didn't
know the couple well.
Neighbor Hunter Foskey said the couple always seemed cordial, but he
never really got to know them.
Foskey would see the couple riding their two horses through the
neighborhood and would wave in passing, he said. There was never any
indication that there was anything wrong.
"I don't know. These days, it doesn't seem there needs to be something
wrong for things to be wrong," he said. "It's such a pointless death."
State records show the couple operated their own company, Red Rock
Solutions, that advertised "land and tractor services," such as
excavating, mowing and stump removal.
The children, 7 and 10 years old, were placed into the custody of a
neighbor Friday night, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The Florida Department of Children and Families is handling the
custody issues involving the couple's children.
Family members, who live out of state, have been contacted and are on
their way to Lakeland, said DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner.
"Hopefully this is an interim temporary placement until the family
gets here."
