The Commission on Capital Cases updates this
information regularly. This information;
however, is subject to change and may not reflect the latest status of an
inmate’s case and should not be relied upon for statistical or legal
purposes.
AULT, Howard S. (W/M)
DC# 664697
DOB: 07/26/1996
Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County Case # 96-21248CF10A
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable David A. Haimes
Resentencing Judge: The Honorable Marc H. Gold
Attorney, Trial: Kulik, Kevin J. – Court Appointed
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Greene, Richard B. – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal Resentencing: Anderson, Jeffrey – Private
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: (TBA)
Date of Offense: 11/04/1996
Date of Sentence: 03/13/2000
Circumstances of
Offense:
On 11/04/1996, eleven-year-old Deanne Mu’min and seven-year-old Alicia Jones left school at 2:05 p.m. Witnesses saw the girls walking home, but they never arrived at John Easterlin Park where they lived with their mother in a trailer attached to the family car. After checking for the girls at the school, the mother went to Howard Ault’s house that evening. Ault stated that he had not seen the girls. The mother then called the police, who went to Ault’s house to ask him about the girls’ disappearances. Ault reaffirmed that he had not seen the girls and permitted the officers to look around his apartment.
The next day, Ault and his wife went to the Oakland Park Police Department to give sworn statements. Ault told Detective William Rhodes he had only met the girls once at the park a few days earlier and they had never been in his truck. Shortly after the interview, Ault was arrested and taken to the Broward County jail for an unrelated attempted sexual battery charge. In the meantime, Detective Rhodes found witnesses who had seen the two girls with Ault in his truck and who had also seen Ault and his truck at a nearby convenience store at approximately the time the girls were walking home from school.
Detective Rhodes went to the Broward County jail to question Ault about the discrepancy between his testimony and the eyewitness accounts. Ault then waived his Miranda rights and confessed to the killing of the two girls. Ault led police to his apartment and told them that the girls’ bodies were in the attic. A consent-to-search form was then signed and police found the bodies in the attic. Ault was taken to the Oakland County Police Department where he gave an account of the murder in a taped confession. Ault met the girls at the convenience store at 2:30 p.m. on 11/04/1996 and used the promise of candy to lure the girls back to his apartment. Ault sexually assaulted Mu’min with his finger and penetrated her with his penis. When she resisted, he strangled her until she stopped screaming. He then strangled Jones to keep her from telling anyone about the incident but did not sexually assault her. Ault redressed Mu’min and put both bodies in the attic.
Ault stated that his reason for killing the girls was to keep them from telling anyone about the assault. The medical examiner testified that both girls had died of manual strangulation. Mu’min had vaginal tissue damage and had been dead approximately two days. Based on the lesser state of decomposition of Jones’ body and a white, foamy substance coming from her mouth, the medical examiner concluded that she had died 12-18 hours after Mu’min. She had been comatose, but alive, when put into the attic.
Prior Incarceration
History in the State of Florida:
|
Offense Date |
Offense |
Sentence Date |
County |
Case No. |
Prison Sentence
Length |
|
09/30/1986 |
AGG BATTERY/W/DEADLY WEAPON |
08/17/1988 |
BROWARD |
8614707 |
7Y 0M 0D |
|
05/15/1988 |
BURGLARY ASSAULT ANY PERSON |
08/17/1988 |
BROWARD |
8811134 |
7Y 0M 0D |
|
05/15/1988 |
SEX BAT/INJURY NOT LIKELY(ATTEMPTED) |
08/17/1988 |
BROWARD |
8811134 |
5Y 0M 0D |
Trial Summary:
11/20/96 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-degree murder
Count II: First-degree murder
Count III: Sexual battery on a child under 12
Count IV: Sexual battery on a child under 12
Count V: Kidnapping a child under 13
Count VI: Kidnapping a child under 13
Count VII: Aggravated child abuse
Count VIII: Aggravated child abuse
08/11/99 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
09/30/99 Jury recommended death by a vote of 9-3 (Mu’min) and 10-2 (Jones)
03/13/00 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-degree murder (Mu’min) – Death
Count II: First-degree murder (Jones) – Death
Count III: Sexual battery on a child under 12 (Mu’min) – Life
Count IV: Sexual battery on a child under 12 (Mu’min) – Life
Count V: Kidnapping a child under 13 (Mu’min) – 15 Years
Count VI: Kidnapping a child under 13 (Jones) – 15 Years
Count VII: Aggravated child abuse (Mu’min) – 15 Years
Count VIII: Aggravated child abuse (Jones) – 15 Years
08/21/07 Jury recommended death by a vote of 9-3(Mu’min) and 10-2(Jones)
10/24/07 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-degree murder (Mu’min) – Death
Count II: First-degree murder (Jones) – Death
Count III: Sexual battery on a child under 12 (Mu’min) – Life
Count IV: Sexual battery on a child under 12 (Mu’min) – Life
Count V: Kidnapping a child under 13 (Mu’min) – 15 Years
Count VI: Kidnapping a child under 13 (Jones) – 15 Years
Count VII: Aggravated child abuse (Mu’min) – 15 Years
Count VIII: Aggravated child abuse (Jones) – 15 Years
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme
Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 00-863
866 So.2d 674
04/20/00 Appeal filed
11/06/03 FSC affirmed conviction and remanded case for resentencing
11/20/03 Motion for rehearing filed
02/04/04 Rehearing denied
03/09/04 Mandate issued
Florida Supreme
Court – Direct Appeal (Resentencing)
FSC# 07-2130
11/13/07 Appeal filed
09/30/10 Appeal denied
10/13/10 Motion for rehearing
01/25/11 Motion denied
02/10/11 Mandate issued
Case Information:
On 04/20/00, Ault filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court in which he raised the following claims: (1) denial of motion to suppress his statements to the police; (2) the trial court erred in granting the State's challenge for cause of juror; (3) denial of motion for a penalty phase mistrial based on the prosecutor's questioning of witnesses about collateral crimes; (4) the trial court erred by not allowing a defense expert to express his opinion as to the applicability of a statutory mental mitigating factor; (5) permission of two penalty phase witnesses to testify about hearsay evidence; (6) denial of request to discharge penalty phase counsel; (7) constitutionality of aggravating circumstances; (8) Apprendi v. New Jersey; and (9) sentenced under the 1995 sentencing guidelines for the noncapital offenses and imposed a departure sentence without contemporaneous written reasons for the departure. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions on 11/06/03. However, upon consideration of Ault’s second issue raised, the trial court’s error in granting the State’s challenge for cause of juror, the case was remanded to the Circuit Court for resentencing.
On 11/13/07, Ault filed a second Direct Appeal in the Supreme Court of Florida in which he raised the following claims: (1) decision to reject certain mitigating factors; (2) proportionality of death sentence; (3) admissibility of victim photographs; (4) weight given to jury verdict; (5) denial of presentencing investigation report; (6) exclusion from pretrial conference; (7) judicial bias; (8) denial of motion to proceed pro se; (9) Ring v. Arizona. Upon consideration of issues raised, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences on 09/30/10. On 10/13/10, Ault filed a motion for rehearing that was denied on 01/25/11. A mandate was issued on 02/10/11.
________________________________________________________________________
Report Date: 10/18/10 JJK
Approved: 10/18/10 RM
Updated: 02/16/11 JJK