On February 12, 2025, 71-year-old Joyce E. Austin was found shot to death on the living room couch of a home on West 90th Street in Lenexa, Kansas. Her death was one of two homicides at that residence; 63-year-old Valerie A. Howard, who was living with Austin, was also killed by gunshot wounds.

Authorities say a 34-year-old man, later identified as Luke Howard, walked into a Walgreens in Liberty, Missouri, with blood on his clothes and told staff he needed to turn himself in. Officers responding to a welfare check at the Lenexa home discovered the two women. Court records and police reports describe repeated domestic disturbances at the residence in the days before the shootings and note that Austin had served Howard a 30-day eviction notice. The suspect allegedly confessed to shooting both women and has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder; police have characterized the killings as intentional and premeditated.

If anyone knew Joyce Austin or has information about the days leading up to the shootings, please share what you know.