Police ID owner of burning vehicle; await dental records to confirm victim

YOUNGSTOWN

Police have identified the owner of an SUV that was found burning early Monday morning with a body inside.

Lt. Doug Bobovnyik said the SUV is registered to Zack Howell, 40, who has also been missing for a few days.

Bobovnyik said detectives have a belief who the victim is, but are still awaiting a dental records report by the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office for a positive ID.

The coroner’s office said whoever was in the SUV, which was found about 7:40 a.m. behind a vacant home on Edgar Street, was shot twice in the head and was dead before the fire was set.

According to his Facebook page, Howell was planning to run for mayor, but there was no official filing for his campaign as of yet, according to the Mahoning County Board of Elections. His slogan is “Real Change, Right Now.”

Bobovnyik said Howell is well known to police and has a substantial criminal record.