On the evening of Wednesday, October 4, 2023, 85-year-old Patsy C. Howard was found at a home on the 4000 block of Bonnie Brae Court in Spotsylvania suffering multiple gunshot wounds to her upper body. She was taken to Mary Washington Hospital, where she died of her injuries.

Investigators arrested Patsy’s husband, 85-year-old David C. Howard, and charged him with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was booked into Rappahannock Regional Jail and held without bond as the case proceeded.

The circumstances left the neighborhood stunned and grieving. If anyone has information about Patsy, the events at that home, or witnessed anything on the evening of October 4, 2023, please come forward.