Murdered SUNY Potsdam student Beth Howell honored as 'a force' as suspect's partial criminal record released

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The State University of New York student who was killed in an apparently random shooting just steps from her college campus is being remembered as a "force" who was not only talented, but "touched the lives of everyone she met," according to a recently published obituary. 

Elizabeth "Beth" Howell died Friday just feet from the campus of SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, where the 21-year-old was enrolled in her final year. Services have been scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 26 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Beecher Funeral Home on Putnam Avenue in Brewster, New York. 

An obituary posted late Tuesday or early Wednesday describes how Howell was "a force" even at a young age, and "grew into a talented woman with a bright smile and personality."

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She was involved in community programs, including orchestras and ballet through the local Danbury Music Centre, and was captain of the girl’s varsity swim team at Brewster High School, where she also held the role of commanding officer for the Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

"She had a kind, beautiful soul that touched the lives of everyone she met," the obituary further states. "Beth knew what she wanted out of life and went for it without hesitation."

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Howell was an avid cellist who performed with the Crane Symphony Orchestra and the Crane Chamber Orchestra. She had hoped to become a music teacher. 

She was survived by her parents, Ann and Joe Howell, three siblings, several aunts and uncles, a grandmother and a bearded dragon named "Toby," the obituary states. 

On Wednesday, the Crane School of Music released a video excerpt from the school’s 2021 Crane Candlelight Concert, in which Howell can be seen performing with other cellists around the 2:32 and 3:54 time stamps. A spokesperson for university said the video showed Howell’s last concert performance with the symphony. 

Howell was supposed to perform as the principal cellist during a concert on Thursday night, which was postponed after te tragedy. The university will honor Howell with a musical remembrance on Wednesday night following by a memorial gathering, the spokesperson said. 

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Howell’s family asked that in lieu of flowers, anyone interested in honoring Beth could make donations in her name to the Danbury Music Centre. 

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, the Danbury Music Centre’s board of directors wrote that their community was "deeply saddened" by the loss. 

"Beth was a beautiful, talented human being and a bright light in our organization for many years.  We are grateful to have had her in our lives," the statement reads. "To the Howell family we offer our love and support at this time of unimaginable loss."

Officials have said Howell was shot Friday around 5:45 p.m. in the area of College Park Road in Potsdam, roughly 30 miles from the Canadian border.

Witnesses described seeing someone fire three shots from a grey-colored, four-door sedan, police said. Howell then made it a short distance before collapsing to the ground at the corner of College Park Road and East Drive, officials said. She could not be saved.  

Police ultimately identified the suspect as being 31-year-old Michael Snow and executed a search warrant at his home in Massena, New York – approximately 25 miles away – the next day. Authorities arrested Snow and charged him with second-degree murder, police said. 

Snow was ordered held without bail and is in custody of the St. Lawrence County Correctional Facility, records show. He is scheduled to appear in Potsdam Town Court on Friday for a preliminary hearing.

Michael Snow's home on Main Street in Massena, New York, where he was arrested by police on Feb. 19, 2022.  (Michael Raasch for Fox News Digital)

St. Lawrence County District Attorney Gary Pasqua, whose office is handling the case, and Howell’s mother, Ann, told Fox News Digital investigators have so far found "no connection" between Snow and the young music student. 

"Given the circumstances," Pasqua said, "it looks at this point like a random act."

Fox News Digital has obtained details regarding Snow’s criminal record in the Village of Massena that showed several minor traffic violations and a traffic infraction for consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. It was not immediately clear if he had any history of criminal offenses elsewhere, but Pasqua told Fox News Digitals his office was not investigating any other open cases involving Snow. 

Investigators are still seeking information regarding Snow’s whereabouts and activity between 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Friday, when his vehicle, which bears a New York license plate KVE2731, is believed to have driven more than 75 miles, through Potsdam, Hopkinton, Malone, Westville, Hogansburg and Massena, investigators said. 

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Police are asking the public to check their video surveillance footage for any signs of Snow or his grey sedan, which has a damaged driver’s side.

Investigators are asking anyone who might have seen Snow or the vehicle to contact the NYSP Troop B communications at (518) 873-2750.

Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.