Elderly inmate dies at University of New Mexico Hospital

An elderly inmate charged with murdering his stepson died in hospital care Sunday — weeks after falling ill while behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

William Howell, 89, died at University of New Mexico Hospital, where he had been hospitalized with pneumonia, according to a news release from MDC spokesperson Candace Hopkins.

Howell had been taken from the jail to UNMH on Nov. 2 for an illness, which was later diagnosed as pneumonia, she said. He was pronounced dead by hospital staff around 12:30 p.m.

Hopkins said the state Office of the Medical Investigator will determine Howell's official cause of death.

"In accordance with standard procedures, the incident is under investigation by the MDC Office of Professional Standards," Hopkins said. 

Hopkins did not give additional details.

Howell was the seventh person to die at MDC or die after being injured or falling ill at the facility in 2025, Hopkins said. A total of 39 inmate deaths have been recorded since 2020. 

Howell had been jailed since December 2023, when he was charged with an open count of murder in the fatal shooting of his 37-year-old stepson, Rastko Starcevic. 

Howell, who was found by authorities covered in blood, told detectives he did not remember what had happened, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metro Court.

A day after being hospitalized, a judge ordered Howell — who was found not competent to stand trial in December 2024 — to be committed to the Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas.