Kareem Howell

Kareem Howell, a 23-year-old African-American man, is remembered by loved ones with nicknames like "KDOGG." His life was cut short in a violent act that remained a mystery for nearly a decade.

On the evening of Saturday, January 16, 2016, a 911 call reported a person down in a wooded area in Cincinnati's Westwood neighborhood. Around 5:50 p.m., District Three officers responded to a trail behind an apartment complex in the 3100 block of Bracken Woods Lane. There, they found Kareem Howell suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was alive but critically injured. Emergency crews rushed him to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The Cincinnati Police Department’s Homicide Unit immediately began an investigation, appealing to the public for any information that could lead to an arrest.

For years, the case grew cold, leaving Kareem's family without answers and his killer or killers at large. The silence was finally broken in October 2025, nearly nine years after the homicide. A Hamilton County Grand Jury handed down indictments against four men, a breakthrough that prosecutors said was made possible by new technology. The investigation revealed a chilling murder-for-hire plot.

Prosecutors alleged that Brandon Webster, 33, and Romello Stephen Wheeler, 30, had placed a $30,000 bounty on Kareem Howell's life. The motive was said to be retaliation for home invasions Howell had allegedly been involved in, one of which reportedly terrorized Webster's mother. The two men accused of carrying out the killing were Darius Holley, 32, and Charlie Dailey, 29. According to the prosecutor's office, Holley and Dailey led Kareem into the woods, held him at gunpoint, and shot him. They later provided proof of the killing to Webster and Wheeler to collect the payment.

On October 23, 2025, all four men were indicted on multiple charges, including one count of aggravated murder with a firearm specification, one count of murder with a firearm specification, one count of aggravated robbery, and two counts of felonious assault. At the time of the indictments, three of the four suspects were already incarcerated for other serious crimes.

Darius Holley was being held at the Ross Correctional Institution on drug and weapons charges. Charlie Dailey was in the Hamilton County Justice Center, awaiting trial for the alleged 2022 murder of a man in North Fairmount. Romello Wheeler was serving a 12-year sentence in federal prison, where he had been described by prosecutors as a "career drug trafficker." Brandon Webster was booked into jail following the indictment.

The arrests marked a significant turning point in the long-stalled investigation, bringing a measure of hope to those who mourned Kareem's death that justice would finally be served. The case, which had once seemed unsolvable, moved into the court system as of October 2025, beginning the next chapter in the search for accountability for the death of Kareem Howell. Anyone with information regarding the case was previously asked to call the Cincinnati Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 513-352-3542 or Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.