On June 25^th 2024, Deputies with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office along with Collinsville Police Department and Crossville Police Department responded to a residence on County Road 221 four miles west of Collinsville in regards to an unresponsive female. When Law Enforcement arrived, at this residence the victim was found to be deceased from an apparent gunshot wound. The DeKalb County Criminal Investigation Division then responded due to suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.

A male subject, later identified as James Michael Howard Jr. (27  years old of Valley Head) was encountered in the area by neighbors of the victim a short time after law enforcement arrived on scene. These neighbors that were at a location four miles west of Collinsville on County Road 221. They promptly notified law enforcement of Howard’s presence and he was detained and interviewed after Investigators determined him to have been present at the victim’s residence earlier.

After interviewing multiple individuals with knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death as well as processing the scene, James Michael Howard Jr. was arrested for Murder and Public Intoxication and booked into the DeKalb County Detention Center.