Canoy murder trial postponed until April

A jury trial scheduled to begin today for a Scott City man accused of murdering his mother has been postponed to April 23.

Neil Howland is charged in connection with the 2013 death of his mother, Cynthia Canoy of Scott City.

Howland is charged with first-degree murder, abandonment of a corpse, tampering with evidence and knowingly burning -- all felonies. He faces two additional felonies of animal abuse. Along with allegations he strangled his mother and torched her body in her car, Howland is accused of putting two of her pet dogs in the vehicle before setting it afire.

Canoy's body was found in August 2013 while crews responded to a car fire off County Road 323. An autopsy showed Canoy died before the fire began.

Howland is accused of killing Canoy by strangling her with a dog leash. Police say Howland transported Canoy's body and two of her dogs to a field near the county road and set the vehicle on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.

Howland's girlfriend, Tiffany Warner, originally was indicted on charges of tampering with evidence in connection with Canoy's death, but Scott County Prosecutor Paul Boyd dropped the charges against her last month to focus on Howland. Boyd said he has the option of refiling the charges later.

The case was moved from Scott County last fall after a discussion about media coverage of the case, online court records show.