A Scott City man was charged on Tuesday with killing his mother and abandoning her body in a burning car.
Neil Howland faces first degree murder charges in the death of Cynthia Canoy, whose body was found in a cornfield in rural Scott County on Aug. 7.
According the police probable cause statement, the 25-year old Howland admitted to police he got mad at his mother during a conversation. He sent his girlfriend and young son out of the house to buy gas. While they were gone, he allegedly strangled Canoy to death. He later placed his mother’s body and two pet dogs in her car and drove them to the cornfield, where he allegedly doused the car in gasoline and set it on fire. The dogs died in the flame.
Howland was questioned in Scott County Jail, where he was being held on unrelated charges. He is still in that jail and without bond.
According to the probable cause statement, Howland is a flight risk who would present a danger to the community and to potential witnesses like his step father. Police say the two men were verbally and physically at odds for some time.
