‘Under the car’: Wife backed up vehicle before ‘intentionally’ running husband over in Dollar General parking lot
Inset: Melissa Howes (Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Dollar General in Dix, Ill., where Melissa Howes ran over and killed her husband (Google Maps).
An Illinois woman is heading to prison for “intentionally” running over her husband and killing him at a Dollar General while she was intoxicated, with cops and prosecutors saying she drunkenly shoved him to the ground first before driving over the man’s body with her car.
Melissa Howes, 54, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated DUI charges this week in connection to the September 2024 death of her husband, Jeffrey Howes, 49, at the Dollar General at 101 S. Main St. in the rural village of Dix, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Officials announced her guilty plea in a press release Wednesday posted on Facebook.
“Yesterday in felony court … Melissa Howes pled guilty to First Degree Murder and Aggravated DUI involving a death resulting from this Sheriff’s Office investigation, which concluded Howes intentionally ran over the victim,” police said. “Howes agreed to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.”
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According to cops and her charging documents, Howes was caught on video from an adjoining apartment complex shoving her husband to the ground and then getting into her car to run him over. Police said she backed up before speeding forward to crush him.
It’s unclear why Howes did what she did, with officials listing no other motives to go with her drunkenness. Rescue efforts were attempted at the scene to save her husband and he was transported to a local hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
“Evidence of alcohol impairment was observed with Melissa and Sheriff’s Office Detectives were contacted to assist,” the sheriff’s office said in a September press release. “Upon completion of the investigation, Melissa Howes was arrested for the crime of Aggravated DUI involving a Death and transported to the Jefferson County Justice Center.”
Incident logs obtained by the local news outlet The Sentinel described Jeffrey Howes’ death as a “person vs. car” incident in which cops reportedly found him “under the car” when they arrived on scene.
A sheriff’s deputy and bystander had to jack the vehicle up off the ground in order for first responders to treat the victim, the Sentinel reports, as the man was going into cardiac arrest and CPR was required.
Howes was still in custody Tuesday at the Jefferson County Jail, according to police. She’s awaiting transfer to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
54-year-old drunk woman knocks husband to the ground in Dollar general parking lot then runs over him
March 15, 2025 by Baron Jonson
DIX, IL – A rural Illinois community is reeling after a local woman was sentenced to prison for the first-degree murder of her husband, whom she intentionally ran over while intoxicated. Melissa Howes, 54, pleaded guilty in court this week, acknowledging her role in the death of her 49-year-old husband, Jeffrey Howes, outside a Dollar General store in Dix.
Officials say the incident occurred in September 2024 and ended in tragedy when Melissa made the decision to drive over her husband after an altercation.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the plea, announcing that Melissa Howes will serve 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for her actions.
Surveillance footage from a nearby apartment complex captured the sequence of events leading up to the fatality, showing Melissa shoving Jeffrey to the ground before getting into her vehicle. Witnesses reported that she then reversed her car and accelerated toward him, causing fatal injuries.
Authorities have not identified a clear motive beyond alcohol intoxication, which played a significant role in the incident. Despite immediate rescue efforts, Jeffrey succumbed to his injuries after being transported to a local hospital. The sheriff’s office reported noticeable signs of alcohol impairment in Melissa during the arrest, underscoring the role that intoxication played in the deadly episode.
First responders faced a harrowing scene upon arrival, finding Jeffrey trapped beneath the vehicle. A deputy sheriff and a bystander had to lift the car off the ground to allow emergency personnel to attempt resuscitation. Despite their efforts, Jeffrey suffered cardiac arrest and could not be revived.
Melissa Howes remains in custody at the Jefferson County Jail while awaiting transfer to state prison. The case has left the tight-knit community grappling with shock and grief over the abrupt and violent loss.
This tragic death of Jeffrey Howes serves as a grim reminder of the dangers of driving under the influence and the potential for alcohol to escalate conflicts into irreversible decisions. As Melissa awaits her transfer, the community continues to process the devastating impact of that September day.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has not released further comments regarding additional aspects of the case, focusing instead on the established facts and the legal resolution reached through the plea agreement.
‘Too much, evidently’: Drunk wife who crushed husband with car told police ‘I don’t know how we got here’
Background: Melissa Howes (Jefferson County State’s Attorney’s Office). Inset: Melissa Howes (Illinois Department of Corrections).
A woman who “intentionally” ran over her husband with a car said she has no idea how it happened when she first spoke to authorities on the night of Sept. 2, 2024.
“I don’t know how we got here,” Melissa K. Howes, 55, told investigators outside a Dollar General in the rural village of Dix, Illinois, as seen on police body camera video. Before breaking down in apparent distress, Howes said she had been with a work friend at the time of the incident.
But Howes would go onto plead guilty in March to first-degree murder and aggravated DUI charges. In exchange, she received a 20-year prison sentence. Prosecutors said she “intentionally” ran over Jeffrey Howes, 49.
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Surveillance footage from a nearby apartment complex showed her pushing her husband to the ground, getting into her car, and backing up the vehicle before speeding forward to crush him, authorities said. First responders found him under the vehicle; a deputy and bystander reportedly had to jack the vehicle off the ground so paramedics could work on trying to save him.
“Can you tell me how much husband is doing?” she asked a deputy with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office after authorities brought her to a hospital in handcuffs.
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Authorities said she showed signs of being drunk.
“Evidence of alcohol impairment was observed with Melissa and Sheriff’s Office Detectives were contacted to assist,” the sheriff’s office said in a September press release. “Upon completion of the investigation, Melissa Howes was arrested for the crime of Aggravated DUI involving a Death and transported to the Jefferson County Justice Center.”
Authorities only relayed drunkenness as a motive. At the time of the incident, a deputy asked her how much she drank that night.
“Too much, evidentially,” she said.
Chris Perez contributed to this report.
