Family, friends celebrate Tad Howard’s life

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TRENTON – Tad Howard was a young man of unwavering Christian faith, a trait his family said he held close until his death.

He had a class-clown sense of humor that resonated through those who knew him.

He was an identical twin who shared an unbreakable bond with his brother.

Above all, though, Howard was a man whose life was tragically cut short.

A crowd of more than 250 family members and friends packed the Faith Community Fellowship in Trenton on Tuesday to remember the 27-year-old from Ellsworth.

Just more than a week ago, Howard was found dead, his body dumped in a ditch off a dirt road in the northern Hancock County town of Amherst.

From the beginning, Howard’s death has been considered suspicious, but late Tuesday afternoon Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland confirmed Howard was the victim of a homicide.

“We’re still not releasing any specifics other than to say that there is an active investigation,” McCausland said by telephone.

Inside the Faith Community Fellowship Church on Tuesday, no one talked about the mysterious nature of Howard’s death. Instead, they focused on his life, which he apparently lived with a childlike zest.

“Tad wasn’t the kind of guy who planned for the future,” one friend said. “He was all about living in the moment.”

The service of remembrance, presided over by the Rev. Robert Crosthwaite and his son, the Rev. Todd Crosthwaite, was a mixture of emotion and subdued laughter.

After a brief introduction, several people had the chance to share their fondest memories of Howard, and, almost always, they involved his twin brother, Toby.

“You can’t tell stories about one without including the other,” said their father, Dale Howard. “They should have been born Siamese twins.”

According to neighbors who spoke Tuesday, the Howards grew up in Township 8 in rural Hancock County before moving to Ellsworth. Like many twins, Tad and Toby were inseparable, they said.

Toward the end of the service, a video collage of pictures was displayed on a large screen at the front of the church, accompanied by Christian rock music. Nearly every picture showed the twins side by side.

While the remembrance was a celebration of Howard’s life, Todd Crosthwaite spoke of the grief and the brokenness that has been felt since last week’s news. Crosthwaite also mentioned the questions surrounding the man’s death that still linger – questions for which there are still no answers.

No further details about Howard’s death have emerged since July 9, when his body was found in a ditch near Scenic Vista, a new subdivision just off Route 9 in Amherst.

An employee of Oak Leaf Realty of Brewer, the subdivision’s owner, reportedly stumbled upon the body while mowing grass in the area.

State police detectives have been working on the case for more than a week but have revealed little information.

“We’re continuing to follow up on leads, but we’re not releasing any information for investigative purposes,” Sgt. Troy Gardner, the lead investigator, said Monday.

A spokesperson at the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta added Monday that the cause of Howard’s death has been determined but is being withheld at the request of the state Attorney General’s Office.

Gardner said the investigation has involved talking to people who knew Howard, adding that police are trying to find out more about the man’s life.

Detectives have said there is no public threat related to the case.

The state of Maine averages about 20 homicides each year, usually about half as a result of domestic violence, but the past month or so has been particularly busy.

So far in 2007, which is not yet seven months old, there have been 15 homicides, McCausland said, including four in the past 30 days alone.

Kevin Foley, 58, of Portland was found shot to death in a Westbrook cemetery on June 22. Police are treating the case as a homicide but have not made any arrests.

Last week, 19-year-old Alexandra Mills, a student at the University of Maine at Augusta, was discovered dead inside her family’s home in Wayne. Police first called Mills’ death suspicious but are now treating it as a homicide.

And Monday, police discovered 59-year-old John Okie Sr. of Newcastle dead in his home, the victim of an apparent homicide.

On Tuesday, police arrested Okie Sr.’s son, John Okie Jr., 20, in connection with the death of Alexandra Mills.

Okie Jr. has not been charged in his father’s death.