Widow arrested and charged with murder in Mississippi cold case, 5 years after husband's death

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Police were told a Mississippi man had killed himself in 2018, but five years later, his 75-year-old widow has been arrested and charged with murder in the death.

The Forrest County Sheriff's Office arrested Harriet Howe on Thursday.

She remained jailed Monday in Hattiesburg, with bail set at $1 million. It's unclear whether she has a lawyer representing her.

George Howe of Dixie died from a single gunshot, and investigators were told he had killed himself. But Forrest County Sheriff Charlie Sims told WDAM-TV that investigators never entirely believed that.

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Police were told a Mississippi man had killed himself, but years later his widow is facing a murder charge for his death. 

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"John Tryner, who is now captain over investigations, was actually the investigator on that case," Sims said. "He had some doubts about that story, was working that case, ran into some dead ends.

Investigators were unable to unlock an electronic device that they believed would show "conclusively" what had happened, Sims said. But in recent months, the sheriff's office joined a task force with another agency that had the technology needed to access the data.

"We took the device down, they downloaded it, and sure enough, it gave us the evidence that was needed to get the warrant to substantiate the charge of murder," Sims said. "And so she was arrested, and hopefully we are on the way to bringing closure to that family."