St. Pete woman found not guilty by reason of insanity in murder of sister

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A woman charged with murdering her sister is headed to a state psychiatric hospital.

Charee Howard called 911 in April and said she choked her sister to death in their St. Pete home. On Monday, a judge ruled Howard was not guilty by reason of insanity and committed her to a state hospital.

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Two doctors testified in court Monday that Howard didn’t know right from wrong at the time of her sister Sherry Howard’s death because of her mental illness.

Sherry Howard

"She suffers from schizophrenia," Dr. Mark Ruiz said. "Specifically, because she's had episodes of bizarre behavior. She has suffered from what sounds [like] what would appear to be paranoid or persecutory delusional beliefs related to witchcraft or spiritual warfare, and these were fairly persistent."

Charee Howard was a family doctor, and her sister was a relator and well-known in the community as someone committed to social justice, Sherry’s friends said.

Charee Howard

"Ms. Howard had been functioning very well in the community [where] she had academic, athletic accomplishments that were fairly significant … then prior to the incident, she started to exhibit what was described as very bizarre, uncharacteristic episodes where she would be fearful," Ruiz said. "She exhibited unusual behavior. She would travel to locations for really unknown reasons. So, a lot of this the family said was striking, but it was also really uncharacteristic of Ms. Howard."

READ: St. Pete woman charged with murdering sister

Less than a month before the murder, the psychologists who evaluated Charee said she called 911 and said she thought there was a man in her home who had tied her up. She was taken to the hospital and Sherry told officers about her sister’s uncharacteristic behavior.

"Particularly it was striking when you know how well-educated this woman was, is, and how high she functioned in the community prior to this. She appeared to be exhibiting signs of psychotic or paranoid episodes," Ruiz said.

Charee Howard in court on Monday

The doctors testified that Charee was diagnosed with psychotic-like behaviors not too long before the murder, but wasn’t taking her medications. Charee and her family members who were in the courtroom got emotional throughout the hearing Monday.

Ruiz said during his evaluation of Charee, she expressed disbelief that she could have harmed her sister. In particular, he said her sister was one of her "primary sources of support." 

Ruiz and psychiatrist Dr. Michael Maher told the court that Charee is a danger to herself and others, especially if she’s not treated. 

"Her mental illness is very severe because of what has happened," Ruiz said. "So, yeah, absolutely I would have concerns about, you know, her ability to kind of manage this on her own." 

The judge agreed, ruling that Charee was not guilty by reason of insanity and ordering her involuntarily committed to a state psychiatric hospital. 

"I am sorry for the pain that I know everyone is going through in this matter," Judge Keith Meyer told Charee and Sherry’s family in the courtroom. 

Charee’s cousin and aunt said the outcome in court is what they’d hoped for. They got to talk to Charee after the hearing. 

Defense attorneys said the Florida Department of Children and Families will now decide which state hospital Charee goes to. They hope she’s moved by the end of the year.