Houston man gets 60 years for fatally stabbing girlfriend as she was trying to leave him

HOUSTON (TCD) — A 64-year-old man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend in 2019.

According to a news release from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Kenneth Howard was dating 37-year-old Pamela Pratt, a mother of three, and he convinced her to move from Dallas to Houston.

The District Attorney’s Office said during the course of their relationship, “Howard had shot at Pratt’s 18-year-old son,” and was subsequently charged.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, on July 12, 2019, while Howard was driving, he and Pratt got into an argument about Pratt wanting to leave Houston, and he “stabbed her at least four times in the chest and neck.”

Howard reportedly failed to seek medical treatment for his girlfriend, and he drove around for about an hour and then called police.

The District Attorney’s Office said he told police, “She pulled the knife on him and later admitted that he got the knife away from her and stabbed her even though she was not a threat to him.”

Howard was reportedly out on bond from shooting Pratt’s son when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend.

The District Attorney’s Office said Howard was convicted Monday, March 6.

Assistant District Attorney Anthony Osso said, “He brought this family down from Dallas and when the abuse started, they decided they wanted to leave and he didn’t like that.”

Osso continued, “There’s a family that doesn’t have their mother anymore, and we know what he’s capable of, so we argued that he shouldn’t be allowed to do this to anyone ever again.”

District Attorney Kim Ogg added, “The most dangerous time for a victim of domestic violence is when they are trying to leave the relationship. That is exactly why we take any and all allegations of domestic violence so seriously.”

Previously, Howard was convicted of stabbing his ex-wife seven times in 1984, and the woman survived.

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