MELBA – Robert Seviano Howell, age 32, of Orangevale, CA, was arrested on Friday, January 16, after CCSO deputies responded to an attempted strangulation call at Celebration Park south of Melba. While deputies were en route, Howell admitted to park employees that he had choked his pregnant wife. Deputies arrived on the scene and immediately detained Howell while EMS personnel began providing life-saving medical care to the victim.
According to court documents, Howell sent his five children, aged 1 to 14, away from the family vehicle; however, they remained close by. Howell confirmed to detectives that he entered the back seat and began strangling the victim with the intent to kill her. Howell stated he continued strangling the victim and only stopped when he believed he had accomplished his task of killing her. Howell told detectives he then exited the vehicle, leaving the victim inside. Howell stated he left and went and looked out over the Snake River for an unknown amount of time before returning to his vehicle. Court documents state that Howell opened the door and discovered the victim was still alive and ran to find help from park employees, who then contacted 911. According to court documents, Howell clarified that there wasn’t an argument that led up to the strangulation and that he didn’t strangle her in the midst of a disturbance, but that he made the deliberate attempt to kill the victim and end her life.
The 33-year-old victim, also from California, remains hospitalized after being transported to a Boise hospital in critical condition. The Canyon County Sheriff’s Office declared the children to be in imminent danger. The five children were placed in the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare…