Daniel Stearns of Palm Bay, Florida is charged with second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and mutilation of a dead body in the murder of 44-year-old Nancy Howery who he was dating. Stearns allegedly shot then burned and dismembered Howery before burying the remains in an abandoned development known as 'The Compound'. Stearns and Howery had allegedly had an argument over Stearns not making special plans for Valentine's Day. Howery was reported missing in February 2023 by her ex-husband after she failed to pick up her children. Sheriff's deputies located Stearns and placed him under surveillance. They later watched as he returned to the Compound in southwest Palm Bay, where he burned Howery's remains and scattered them across several locations in the complex.