A family in Florida is grateful for justice after a mom’s killing. Daniel Stearns, the man who brutally killed her, is going to spend the rest of his life in prison. Back in 2023, Stearns began dating a divorced mom of two. After dating for an unknown amount of time, the man reportedly became angry that she continued to date other men; in his mind, their relationship should have been exclusive. Clearly, she didn’t agree. He became so enraged that he shot and killed her. Killing her would have been enough, but then he took it a step farther and dismembered her body. Now, he gets to sit with his decisions for the rest of his life.
Stearns, 32, appeared at a sentencing hearing on December 3, 2025, Fox 35 reported. A judge handed down the decision that Stearns would spend life in prison for killing mom Nancy Howery. The two had met online and began dating. He killed her in February 2023.
In October 2025, Stearns was found guilty of second-degree murder, abuse of a dead human body, and tampering with or destroying evidence.
Howery, a 44-year-old mom of two, was reported missing by her ex-husband, Todd Howery, on February 18, 2023, after she didn’t pick up their kids from school, Law & Crime reported. She was last seen on February 15, 2023, when she told a friend she was planning to meet Stearns in Palm Bay. When they met up, they got into a heated argument.
“The defendant was angry at Ms. Howery. He was jealous, because she was seeing other men and that their relationship was not exclusive. She was not, to quote him, ‘following his relationship rules,’” prosecutor Samantha Barrett said during sentencing, per Law & Crime.
Following the argument, Stearns fatally shot Howery. He dismembered her body before burning it, burying the remains in several parts of a wooded area called “the Compound.” According to the outlet, the process took several days. It also gave police five crime scenes to investigate.
Howery’s ex-husband spoke at the sentencing on behalf of the couple’s children, WESH reported. “What happened took away my children’s mom,” he said. “It wasn’t just a murder. It was a savage slaughter.”
Todd Howery also reminded the court of all the things his children are missing since their mother’s death. “They don’t have a mom to share birthdays with,” he said, per Fox 35. “My daughter doesn’t have a mom to share prom with, wedding day, same with my son.”
The father, mother and sister of Stearns also appeared at the sentencing. According to WESH, at one point, his mother was “so overcome with emotion she needed help exiting the courtroom,” but she did get up to share a message with her son.
“I just want to tell him I love him,” she said. “I miss him, and I’ll always be there for him.”
