Daniel Stearns, 32, from Florida, received a life sentence without parole on December 4, 2025, for second-degree murder in the death of Nancy Howery, 44, whom he met on a dating app. He was also convicted of abuse of a dead human body and tampering with evidence following an October 2025 trial. Howery, a mother of two, went missing on February 18, 2023, after failing to pick up her children, and was last seen alive on February 15, 2023, planning to meet Stearns in Palm Bay.
Crime Details
Stearns and Howery argued heatedly on February 15, 2023, over jealousy and non-exclusivity, leading Stearns to fatally shoot her. He then dismembered her body, burned the remains, and buried them across five crime scenes in a wooded area called the Compound in Broward County. Sheriff’s deputies, tracking Stearns via the Game Over Task Force, observed him discarding evidence and detained him, later identifying Howery’s remains there.
Court Proceedings
Prosecutor Samantha Barrett highlighted Stearns’ anger at Howery for seeing other men and not following his “relationship rules.” Victim’s ex-husband Todd Howery described the act as a “savage slaughter” beyond mere murder. In addition to life for murder, Stearns got over 22 years each for the other charges.
