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ITHACA, N.Y. — A Tioga County judge sentenced Joseph Howell, 39, to a minimum of 31 years in New York State prison Friday for orchestrating the kidnapping, torture and murder of Ithaca resident Thomas Rath in 2023.Howell was sentenced to an indeterminate prison term of 25 years to life for first-degree murder. He received the same sentence for first-degree kidnapping. For two counts of intimidating a witness, Howell was sentenced to an indeterminate term of two to four years. Tioga County District Attorney Kirk Martin argued to presiding Judge Adam Schumacher that Howell should receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole, the maximum sentence for first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in New York.“It’s the only just sentence,” Martin said. Martin pointed to Howell’s “extensive criminal history,” which includes two felony charges, and the fact he still maintains his innocence to support his argument for a life sentence. “This was not a win. Not a win at all,” Rath’s father, also named Thomas, said following the sentencing. “Justice was not served today. He deserved life [in prison].” Rath was 38 years old in May 2023 when he was assaulted and abducted from his camp in “the Jungle,” a known homeless encampment in Ithaca. After months of law enforcement conducting wide-scale searches, on Aug. 3, Robert Hines, who was arrested last year in connection to the case, led New York State Police to a remote stretch of Ekroos Road in Candor, N.Y., where Rath’s decapitated body was found decaying in a shallow ditch. He had been shot in the head.Rath’s family filled the first five rows in the Tioga County Court, sitting behind Martin and Rath’s paternal aunt, Jenn Salone, who delivered an emotional statement before the sentence was announced. “I pray that the court and the system do the right thing to make sure you don’t have any power over anyone,” Salone said to Howell, who sat feet away, hands folded in his lap, focused on maintaining eye contact. “This fake power. And self-proclaimed power you think you have. You surely don’t have it over me and my family,” Salone said. Salone fondly remembered Rath, calling him brilliant and one of her “favorite people.” She told Howell it was “unfortunate” he only knew the Tommy “who had an addiction problem.” Rath has a young daughter who “so dearly loved [her father] for the short, short time she knew him,” Salone said. The family will now have to raise her without him. Jail records show Howell was transported and booked at the Tompkins County Jail directly following his sentencing. It is unclear where he will serve out his sentence. Howell’s 13-day trial concluded on Oct. 24, the first in the Rath case, after the 12-person jury found Howell guilty on all charges. As part of plea deals with the district attorney’s office, at least five of the 13 people initially charged in the case testified about Howell’s role as the “kingpin” or “ boss”— terms Martin used during the trial to describe Howell’s responsibility for Rath’s murder, even though Howell was not present when Rath was killed. Howell’s trial revealed the intricate network of co-defendants he collaborated with — or, according to Martin, controlled — to murder Rath after Howell’s ex-girlfriend suffered a miscarriage, which witnesses testified he blamed on Rath. Ringleader in Rath torture, murder convicted, faces life in prisonAt Friday’s sentencing, Howell addressed the court and the Rath family. While apologetic, Howell denied having any involvement in Rath’s kidnapping and murder. “So at the end of the day, they did whatever they could to get a conviction. That’s their job,” Howell said, facing the five rows where Rath’s family sat. “When I die, when I have to go upstairs, I’ll go with a clear conscience. I promise you that.” He also adamantly denied Rath was tortured in any way, despite testimony that proves otherwise. During the October trial, David Maycumber, a defendant who pled guilty to a second-degree kidnapping charge in exchange for a reduced sentence, testified to witnessing Howell pour gasoline on Rath while he lay restrained and naked atop a tarp on Howell’s garage floor. Maycumber said five other defendants were present, including Angelo Baez, who awaits sentencing after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder and other charges in December, and Colleen Dillon, who also awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to second-degree kidnapping as part of a plea deal with the district attorney’s office. The post First defendant in Rath torture, murder case sentenced to at least 31 years in prison appeared first on The Ithaca Voice.First published by The Ithaca Voice.

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First defendant in Rath torture, murder case sentenced to at least 31 years in prison

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