911 call: Wake man charged in wife's death was covered in blood

Sonny Howard, 42, of 14925 Creedmoor Road, is charged with first-degree murder in the May 23 death of his wife, Sherry Howard, 50.

A neighbor called 911 early that morning to report a possible homicide. She said she and her husband went to check on Sherry Howard, whom she described as having been panicky the previous night.

They found Sherry Howard's keys in the lock on the back door, and as they were leaving, they confronted Sonny Howard, the caller said. He had blood on his boots and pants, she said.

The neighbors saw what appeared to be a body or a mannequin on the ground by Sonny Howard's truck, according to the call. The body was face-down and had what looked like dried blood on its head, the caller said.

"What is that, a dummy?" the caller said she asked Howard. "This is what he told us. 'No, I've been sawing a hog.'"

Wake County deputies couldn't find a body when they searched the area, and investigators used Sonny Howard's cellphone signal to track him to Galax, Va. There, police arrested him after finding his wife's body in the back of his pickup truck.

According to search warrants issued in the investigation, the Howards' son told investigators that his parents had fought the night before his mother's death. 

Warrants also said two weapons were found inside the house and that eight boxes of ammunition and four bottles of prescription drugs were seized from Sonny Howard's pickup. Investigators also found a notebook in the truck with the message "I love you much. I'm sorry," but it was unclear who wrote it and when, according to a search warrant.