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A Texas man, Mark Howerton, has been charged with the murder and sexual assault of a Trinity University cheerleader, Cayley Mandadi, 19 at the time of her death, after turning himself into local authorities.
What happened?
According to KENS 5, Howerton told Bexar County Police that he had consensual but rough sex with Mandadi, who died over last year’s Halloween weekend. After they went to the Mala Luna music festival in San Antonio, Howerton brought Mandadi, unresponsive and nude from the waist down, to Luling’s Seton Edgar B. Davis Hospital on October 29, claiming that he noticed she had stopped breathing and attempted to perform CPR before bringing her to the hospital.
However, in Howerton’s arrest report, officials noted that Mandadi’s injuries were consistent with sexual assault, including blunt force trauma to the head; her official cause of death was ultimately given as blunt force head and face trauma. Using that evidence, police eventually charged Howerton with sexual assault and murder.
According to Express News, authorities noticed that none of Mandadi’s possessions her found in his car, which contradicted earlier claims that she and Howerton were planning on going on a trip together. It was also noticed that Howerton had red knuckles in a manner consistent with punching someone and scratches on his arms.
Who is Mark Howerton?
Howerton was not a student at Mandadi’s school and had been her boyfriend for about a month
This past October, Trinity Police informed local students of a criminal trespass warning for Howerton, who was not a student at the school, although it was not initially connected to Mandadi’s death.
Surrendering at the Bexar County magistrate’s office, Howerton’s bail was set at a combined $225,000.
