Another twist in the case of remains found off Broyles Avenue

There’s another twist in the story of remains found on property off Broyles Avenue.

The McCracken County Sheriff’s Office believes those remains found back in December belong to Dillard Howery, the father of David Howery, who once lived on that Broyles Avenue property. Detectives have been following up on the investigation of David Howery in relation to an animal cruelty case. In addition, child sexual abuse material was allegedly located on Howery’s phone.

The elder Howery has been missing since 2015, according to the investigation, but the sheriff's office said that no missing persons report has ever been filed.

A forensic pathology team from the University of Tennessee came to Paducah to recover the remains. No official confirmation of the identity of the skeletal remains has come back, but Sheriff Ryan Norman told West Kentucky Star that they are confident enough that prosecutors issued charges for the younger Howery.

In addition to the charges of abuse of a corpse and failure to notify of a death, Howery was served with charges of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor. The warrants were served at the McCracken County Regional Jail, as Howery has been in custody since April of 2025.

Norman indicated that there could be federal charges relating to the concealment of Dillard Howery’s death due to possible benefits fraud.