Fort Worth murder suspect threatened girlfriend before her 2018 slaying, warrant says
Forensic evidence and witness statements that put Daricko Brewer with his girlfriend the night she was killed in 2018 in east Fort Worth are factors that led to his arrest this summer, according to a warrant..
Shooting tests and minimal gunshot residue found on Katie McHowell indicated that she did not shoot herself with a handgun found in her wrecked car on the night of Nov. 1, 2018.
Witnesses also told Fort Worth detectives that McHowell was supposed to pick up Brewer the night she died, and another witness admitted to picking up Brewer in the area where McHowell’s body was found in the wrecked car, according to an arrest warrant obtained this week by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
During the course of the investigation, Brewer refused to talk to Fort Worth detectives and fled to California after McHowell’s death, police said.
But police managed to obtain an arrest warrant for Brewer in June and he was taken into custody on July 13.
Fort Worth police did not release any information on a motive for the killing, but a family member told detectives Brewer physically abused McHowell, according to the warrant.
Brewer was charged with murder on July 20, and he remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Friday with bond set at $250,000.
The warrant written by Fort Worth Detective C.M. Watson gave these details that led to Brewer’s arrest:
Just before midnight on Nov. 1, 2018, police responded to a major accident call in the 5100 block of Brentwood Stair Road in east Fort Worth.
Patrol officers were told a 2003 Chevrolet Impala was in a drainage ditch and it had flipped over. When they arrived, police found the body of a woman in the driver’s seat. The woman was later identified as Katie McHowell, who had died from a gunshot wound to her head.
A 9mm handgun was found in the car along with three cell phones, but police and firefighters did not find any signs of another person being in the car. No witnesses were found that saw the crash.
McHowell’s parents told detectives that McHowell, who was from Cleburne, had been staying in Fort Worth, and she had been dating Brewer. One family member also claimed Brewer had hit McHowell and threatened her with guns.
Detectives interviewed witnesses who verified that McHowell and Brewer were supposed to meet the night she was killed.
A few days after McHowell’s death, detectives downloaded some photos from her cell phone and discovered images of Brewer displaying what appeared to be the handgun found in McHowell’s wrecked car.
Cell tower data showed that McHowell’s and Brewer’s phones were in different locations an hour before the accident call, but the two phones were found in the car after the wreck.
Brewer’s phone records also indicated he called a friend from one of the phones found in McHowell’s car just minutes before someone called 911 about the wreck on Brentwood Stair Road.
Detectives also collected text messages between friends of Brewer and it appeared they were discussing a tense situation just after McHowell’s shooting death.
“I love u roni plz just chill out baby. We are going threw enough ok and u know what i’m doing ok. Try and just be patient with me plz mamma and clean the phones,” some of the text messages said. Clean the phones meant to get rid of text messages, the warrant says.
McHowell’s DNA was not found on the gun in the car, according to the warrant.
Male DNA was found on the gun, police said in the warrant. At the time of the warrant, Brewer’s DNA was not on file.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Fort Worth murder suspect threatened girlfriend before her 2018 slaying, warrant says."
