Justice may have been delayed in the death of a Richlands man whose killer became embroiled in out-of-state legal battles that prevented his return to Onslow County for eight years, but justice was not denied, District Attorney Ernie Lee said.
Eban Howard, 36, pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to voluntary manslaughter in the 2003 strangling death of 23-year-old Dave Johnson.
Howard, whose name also appears as Eben Howard in official documents, was sentenced to five to seven years in prison. He had been held since 2003 in a Massachusetts mental healthcare facility until early January when he was returned to North Carolina.
