NORTH ANDOVER — The man who died after being arrested at a police road block on Thanksgiving Eve died from blunt force trauma, the attorney representing his family said last night.
"The (medical) examiner's office informed us that the cause of death was blunt force to the head, face and chest with chest compression, and that it was deemed a homicide," said attorney Frances King of Boston, who represents the family of Kenneth Howe, 45, of Worcester.
"It reaffirms what we have believed from the very beginning — that he was beaten to death. Now we are hoping that the perpetrators are punished accordingly," King said.
Stephen O'Connell, spokesman for Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, said the death certificate also said Howe suffered from atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
"At this point, I can tell you that our investigation into the matter is continuing and is being headed by Assistant District Attorney Gerald P. Shea. He is a 25-year veteran of the office," O'Connell said. "We are still awaiting the final autopsy report and are also awaiting the results of forensic testing."
"Thus far," O'Connell continued, "there have been more than 50 interviews conducted with more than 22 total hours of interviews to be transcribed by an independent court reporter."
Howe was a passenger in a vehicle stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in front of The Eagle-Tribune building on Route 114 shortly before midnight on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Police said he struck a state trooper after being asked to step out of the vehicle and was subdued after a short foot chase.
While being booked at the Andover state police barracks, Howe slumped over, was unresponsive, and was taken to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m., O'Connell previously said.
Howe traveled to the area with the other two men to buy a boat. They stopped at Stop & Shop on Route 114 to buy food for Thanksgiving dinner, then started hauling the boat home.
Howe tried to dispose of a marijuana cigarette and put his seat belt on when they came upon the roadblock, King previously said.
A female state trooper approached the truck and Howe held both hands up and tried to explain that the cigarette was all he had in his hand.
The trooper reached into the truck, pulled him out, and screamed that Howe assaulted her, according to King.
King has contended that Howe never assaulted the trooper.
King said it was standard procedure to receive a call from the medical examiner's office prior to the death certificate becoming public record.
King said the death certificate was mailed to Lawrence City Hall yesterday because Howe was pronounced dead in Lawrence.
King said she will be filing a federal lawsuit next week. She said Howe's wife and three daughters are doing "terrible."
"The two young girls are having difficulty in school, the widow is crying all the time. They're having a very, very tough time," King said.
Howe's daughters are 15, 10 and 13 months, King said.
"The family wants justice and we hope that we get justice," she said.
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