Texas couple investigates teen daughter’s unusual death
Kelly Mandadi, The 19-year-old is a typical Texas teen navigating life through school, sports, and boys. Friends said she had a big heart and was “full of love.” Her mother said Kelly was a happy person, trustworthy, enthusiastic and always smiling.
Mandadi is a sophomore communications major at Trinity University, a small liberal arts college in San Antonio, Texas. In the fall of 2017, friends said Mandadi finally felt like he fit in at school. She joined a sorority and was a member of the Trinity cheerleading team.
young love
Mandadi dated Trinity College student and football player Jett Birchum during their freshman year. But the relationship was on-again, off-again.
New people in Mandadi’s life
There is another man in Mandadi’s life – 22-year-old Mark Howerton. Howerton was a star high school baseball player growing up. Howerton was not a student at Trinity but frequently visited friends on campus. In this way, he met Mandadi. By October 2017, their friendship turned into a romantic relationship.
Unstable relationship
Howerton and Mandadi’s relationship quickly became rocky. Weeks before Mandadi’s death, Howerton demolished Mandadi’s dorm room, according to campus police. After an argument, Howerton reportedly threw clothes into a tree, broke a sliding glass door and later smashed her laptop. Trinity University Police were called to the scene and Howerton was banned from campus.
weekend party
On the last weekend of October 2017, Mandadi and Howerton attended the Mala Luna music festival in San Antonio. The couple took MDMA, a drug known as “molly” or “ecstasy.” This photo was taken at a music festival.
Tragedy happens
According to Howerton, the couple left Mala Luna just after 4pm on Sunday, October 29, 2017, where they got into an argument after seeing Mandadi’s ex-boyfriend Jett Birchum at the festival.
Howerton said they continued arguing in the car but eventually pulled into a parking lot and had “rough” make-up sex. Howerton later told police that sometime after the sex, Mandadi stopped breathing. At some point, he took her to the emergency room.
disturbing scene
When Howerton arrived at the emergency room, Mandadi was sitting in the passenger seat of the car, nearly naked and unconscious. A paramedic testified that she saw “multiple bruises” on Mandadi’s legs and immediately began CPR.
Mark Howerton’s hand
As doctors tried to save Mandadi’s life, police officers at the scene Interview with Mark Howerton About what happened that night. They took this picture of his hand
Mark Howerton arrested
Three months after Mandadi’s death, her autopsy report was released. The report indicated she died of blunt force trauma to the face and head and ruled her death a homicide. A few weeks later, Howerton was arrested and charged with murder and sexual assault. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail.
Defending Mark Howerton
Howerton went on trial in San Antonio in December 2019 for Mandadi’s murder.
Howerton’s defense attorney, John Hunter, told 48 Hours: “Things are not what they seem in this case.”
Mandadi’s ex-boyfriend testifies in court
During the trial, Burcham told the jury what he witnessed at the Maraluna Music Festival. He testified that he saw Howerton and Mandadi “engaging in a heated conversation” and Mandadi “trying to create space” and “leave.” He said he then witnessed Howerton “put his right arm around her shoulder and pull her closer. Then he turned and walked away.”
During cross-examination, Hunt grilled Burcham about what he said he saw that day. Burcham initially told police he saw Howerton pick up Mandadi and put her in his car as they left the festival. On the witness stand, Burcham admitted to misleading police about the incident, testifying that he did not actually see Howerton put Mandadi into his car.
defense theory
The defense offered different theories as to why Mandadi was injured that day. They believe Mandadi’s bruises were caused by medical staff, not Howerton. They said the cause was the organ donation process, and that as medical professionals desperately tried to save Mandadi seven times, they broke one of her ribs and bruised her body.
Hungry jury urges Mandadi’s parents to start own investigation
After two days and ten hours of deliberations, the jury informed the judge they were unable to reach a decision. A mistrial was declared.
While prosecutors planned to retry Howerton, Kelly’s mother Alison Steele (pictured) and stepfather Lawrence Bertrand decided the jury needed more information about what happened in Howerton’s car.
Mandadi’s parents developed their own theory
Steele and Bertrand focused on autopsy photos that showed a small dot-shaped bruise above Kelly’s right ear and another larger bruise above Kelly’s left ear.
Steele said they believe Kelly’s fatal injuries occurred when Howerton “reached out from the driver’s seat, struck her in the left ear and banged her head against the window and the car’s lock button.” It was caused when “up”.
Steele and Bertrand went to a used car lot, where Steele posed in a Mercedes Holden similar to the one Kelly was driving the night he was killed. This is one of many photos Bertrand took of Steele posing in a car. He told 48 Hours that he “photographed her head in different positions while holding the autopsy images to try to see if they matched the door, and it was a near-perfect match.”
Mandadi’s stepfather developed the 3D model
NASA engineer Lawrence Baitland was inspired by the photos he took to create a 3D model of Mandadi’s head. He layered photos of Kelly and autopsy photos to show the spot above Kelly’s right ear.
“So that gave me the confidence to take the next step, which was to find the killer’s car,” Bertrand said.
Track the killer’s car and create a reenactment video
batlan Howerton’s Mercedes traced. He persuaded the car owner to sell him the car.
Bertrand and Steele then hired a private investigator to create a video re-enactment of what they believed happened in the car, with actors similar in stature to Mandadi and Howerton. This is a still frame from the video.
Howerton found guilty of aggravated assault in second trial
Howerton will appear in court when the second trial begins in May 2023.
Prosecutors decided not to introduce the video of Steele and Bertrand’s reenactment into evidence, fearing that defense cross-examination of it could undermine the case.
The jury did not find Howden guilty of murder but found him guilty of aggravated assault causing grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole in May 2033
Mandadi’s parents continue to fight for victims
Alison Steele transforms grief into action. In September 2019, she received Clear Alert Act Passed. Now, in Texas, when someone between the ages of 18 and 64 goes missing, emergency text messages are sent to the community. Steele hopes “Kelly’s story can be used to help other people.”
forever friends
Taylor Clement will never forget her best friend. She told 48 Hours she had always planned to have Mandadi be a bridesmaid at her wedding one day and godmother to her future children. She said this photo of them “smiling at prom is (her) favorite.”
