Years before D’Andre Howard would be accused of murdering three members of a Hoffman Estates family, his young life was filled with mental instability, sexual aggression and occasional violence, according to records and interviews.
His run-ins with the law continued to the very morning when authorities say he killed three people in the home of his girlfriend’s family. Hoffman Estates police, responding to a complaint of loud music at Howard’s apartment, arrested him early Friday on an outstanding traffic warrant, freeing him on bail before he allegedly went to the house.
“If we had any indication this person would harm anybody, we wouldn’t have released him,” said police spokesman Lt. Rich Russo.
Howard, 20, is now being held without bail, accused of killing his girlfriend’s sister, Laura Engelhardt, 18; their father, Alan Engelhardt, 57; and their grandmother, Marlene Gacek, 73.
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He appeared Monday in Rolling Meadows court, where a judge ordered him to provide DNA samples that will be compared to bloody palm prints, footprints and fingerprints found in the Engelhardts’ home.
Meanwhile, the grief of those who knew the victims continued to pour out. Counselors fanned across Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, where Laura Engelhardt was a senior, offering their services to dozens of students.
“We’re trying to set a tone that the whole community has had a tragedy, but we can help each other,” said counselor Dan Detzner.
Howard’s grim life is sketched in a series of state records. The Department of Children and Family Services allegedly removed him from the care of his birth mother in 1993, when he was 5, after two half-brothers were born with drugs in their systems.
He began a chaotic journey through the foster-care system, records show, changing homes at least 10 times before he turned 18. He sometimes became violent with others and displayed sexually inappropriate behavior, which an evaluation suggested was the result of “early exposure to a highly sexualized environment” and possible abuse, records show.
Lake County court records show he was arrested at 15 for criminal sexual abuse, for which he received 2 years of probation.
At some point, he became a resident at the Alternative Behavior Treatment Centers in Mundelein. The facility treats youths with traumatic backgrounds, and some are sex offenders.
Robin McGinnis, the facility’s chief executive officer, said she could not comment on what brought Howard there, but said he left two years ago after he turned 18. He had not completed the program, she said.
Howard remains a ward of the state, meaning even as a young adult he has been able to get DCFS assistance ranging from housing to counseling. Agency spokesman Kendall Marlowe said he could not discuss the services Howard received.
Howard had a child with the sister of Laura Engelhardt, and records show he is also the father of another child. He is not in contact with that child, according to the records.
The murder charges facing Howard could make him eligible for the death penalty, prosecutors said. He is being represented by Assistant Cook County Public Defender Jim Mullenix, who gave reporters a terse but telling comment after Monday’s court hearing: “There is a wide assortment of mental health issues with my client.”
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