Tad Douglas Howard was 27 when he was killed the night of July 8, 2007, in a secluded area in Amherst, Maine. He had been with a man he considered a friend, John J. Turner; the two were known associates in the drug trade. Turner allegedly planned to rob Howard of money from their illicit dealings, and that plan escalated into violence. Prosecutors described the attack as an execution-style killing after Turner shot Howard multiple times with a shotgun, including a final, fatal shot to the head. Howard’s body was found the next day.

A Hancock County jury found John J. Turner guilty of murder in May 2008 following a three-day trial that laid out the dispute over drug money as the motive. In July 2008 Turner was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Howard’s family said they felt some closure when the legal process concluded but noted that nothing could justify the violent end he met.

Did anyone who knew Howard or Turner in the Bangor or Amherst area notice changes in their friendship or their dealings before July 2007?