Man Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison For Stabbing Jasper Howard

The stabbing death of Jasper Howard has approached some sort of closure more than a year later, with the man blamed for Howard’s death sentenced to 18 years Friday for the killing. James Lomax III pleaded guilty in January to manslaughter in connection with Howard’s slaying.

He broke down as he addressed Howard’s family in court.

“I know it hurts. I know it hurts.” he said. “I would never want this to happen to any family. You may despise me. I don’t despise you. We’re all God’s children.”

Several other people involved in the fight that claimed Howard’s life have yet to be tried.

Well here’s an awful post-script on the Jasper Howard murder. UConn freshman Christopher Mutchler posted Internet messages telling people to “stop the snitching” as the investigation got underway.

“STOP the snitching and post the names of anyone you know who gave information to the cops,” read one profanity-laced posting on the ESPNU site. “jazz didnt deserve do die the person who killed him didnt intend to kill HIM anyone who snitched should face the social consequences.”

Over 8,000 people visited the Facebook wall, and police say they had reason to believe the messages were instilling fear and preventing witnesses from coming forward.

The worst part is that, according to police, Mutchler has no link or relationship with any of the suspects in the case. He’s just a terrible person. The University is also investigating whether or not he violated its code of conduct and should face explusion.

More than a week after the UConn player was fatally stabbed, police have charged a man with murder in the death of Jasper Howard.

John W. Lomax III, 21, of 28 Barry Circle, Bloomfield, has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, said Maj. Ronald Blicher of the UConn police at a press conference this afternoon. He is being held on $2 million bail.

Police also arrested Hakim Muhammad, 20, of 11 Barry Circle, Bloomfield. He is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree assault and is held on $750,000 bail. Both men are scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Rockville on Wednesday.

A third man, Jamal Todd, 21, of 75 Hampton St., Hartford, has been charged with falsely reporting an incident and reckless endangerment for pulling the fire alarm that preceded the altercation during which Howard was stabbed. He was released on $5,000 non-surety bail.

Thus far, police have not been able to find the knife used in the crime.

ESPN’s Joe Schad reports:

Man to be charged today in fight that led to Jasper Howards death, though not his murder

Schad also reports that police have also scheduled a press conference for 12:30 PM EST to announce “significant developments” in their investigation. We’ll have more information as it becomes available.

From the Associated Press:

From the report: “So far nobody has been charged with the stabbing, but in the meantime Howard’s family, who had traveled from Miami to transport the body for burial, expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of love and support the family has received from the Connecticut community.”

Again, while it’d previously been reported that an arrest was imminent, for the time being it seems that investigators are in a holding pattern, while the family and friends of Jasper “Jazz” Howard continue the grieving process, and begin taking the next steps toward gaining closure from this tragedy.

During Saturday’s UConn-West Virginia game in Morgantown all Huskies players will wear a sticker with the initials “JH” on it and all Mountaineers will wear a sticker with the number “6” on their helmet. There will also be a moment of silence before kick-off in honor of Jasper Howard.

According to NBC Connecticut, an arrest will be coming soon in the stabbing death of UConn player Jasper Howard.

A Hartford attorney says he is representing a Bloomfield man that he expects will be arrested in connection with the stabbing death of UConn football player Jasper Howard.

Deron Freeman, who declined to name his client, said UConn Police have indicated they will be pursuing charges against the man in relation to Howard’s death. Freeman does not know what the exact charges will be.

Freeman states that his client was present during the stabbing but was not the killer. More to come for sure.

From the Associated Press comes a report that identifies the second victim in Saturday night’s stabbing, also a UCONN football player:

Another Connecticut football player has been identified as the second victim in Sunday morning’s fatal stabbing at the University of Connecticut.

Brian Parker, a 19-year-old sophomore wide receiver from Sarasota, Fla., sustained minor injuries in the attack that killed teammate Jasper Howard outside a university-sponsored dance.

Parker, who is academically ineligible this season, is identified in a police report stemming from the arrest of Johnny Hood, a Hartford man taken into custody after the fight on charges of breach of peace and interfering with police.

Though Brian Parker seems to be fine and was able to identify Hood—who remains in police custody—it’s still unclear as to whether Hood will be charged with the stabbings. In fact, as police have yet to narrow their search for a suspect, it would indicated that Hood, the one man they have in custody, is probably not the murderer. Stay tuned, as we’ll be keeping you updated throughout.

CBS Sports reports that while an investigation is underway, police in Connecticut have yet to settle on any suspects in the murder of UCONN star Jasper Howard:

The killer of University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard is on the loose as police interview witnesses.

UConn police Maj. Ronald Blicher said Monday morning that no arrests have been made and authorities have no suspects in the stabbing early Sunday morning.

Because the stabbing happened outside a dance in which the fire alarm was pulled—with a flood of people chaotically emerging from the dance hall—it seems narrowing the focus down to one, particular suspect might prove difficult. Still, given the high profile nature of this case and the public outcry in Connecticut, one hopes that at the very least the state police in Connecticut will give the case all the necessary resources to apprehend a suspect.