2 years after the body of Daniel Howey, an intellectually disabled victim, was found in Dutton Lake, Chambers Co. deputies say.

CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Two murder suspects are behind bars nearly four years after detectives found the body of a missing man in Dutton Lake.

On Monday, the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office charged and arrested Carroll Richardson for his alleged role in the 2020 slaying of 37-year-old Daniel Howey.

Authorities also charged Shaun Sandles in Howey’s murder for allegedly being Richardson’s accomplice. Sandles was already incarcerated at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Powledge Unit on unrelated charges outside of Harris County, according to deputies.

Investigators said Howey, a man with intellectual and developmental disabilities who required a wheelchair, was reported missing from Harris County around the time his body was found.

The sheriff’s office said Richardson cared for Howey at the Caring Hands Group Home in Harris County. Records show Howey received a large settlement from a personal injury case in May 2020 in which Richardson was a suspect.

Richardson is accused of systematically draining Howey’s large settlement through various transactions, including large sums of money directed to himself, his associates and his businesses.

Detectives believe Howey threatened to report Richardson for stealing his settlement money before his body was found Oct. 13, 2020, in Dutton Lake on FM 2354.

Investigators said a witness provided critical eyewitness accounts leading up to and during the crime. A grand jury heard the case Thursday and indicted both Richardson and Sandles on the murder charges.

If you have additional information related to this incident, please contact the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office at (409) 267-2500 and to the attention of Sgt. C. Hudson or Lt. L. Clement of the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division.