An state extradition hearing will be held Friday for Earl Roy Howard, the Belwood, man arrested on the Michigan side of the U.S./Canada border Thursday after a warrant was issued on murder and arson charges.
The victim's wife was also charged with conspiracy to commit murder and other charges.
The body of 42-year-old Chad Entzel was found on Jan. 2 in Bismarck, North Dakota, when firefighters attended the scene of a house fire.
Entzel was found in a room with a burning propane heater nearby, which was the cause of the fire. Preliminary autopsy results showed he died from a gunshot wound to the head.
A local Fox News affiliate in North Dakota cited court documents that said a box of shotgun shells with two missing was found during a search of the room. A shotgun was also found on the bed with two shells inside, one of which was spent.
On Tuesday, police from the Burleigh County Sheriff's Department interviewed Entzel’s wife, Nikki Sue.
After the interview she was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence.
After the interview, police said Howard was named a person of interest and on Wednesday an arrest warrant was issued.
At 11:45 p.m. Wednesday, Howard arrived at the Port Huron Border Crossing where he was taken into custody without incident.
He was transferred to St. Clair County Jail to await an extradition hearing to be returned to North Dakota to face the charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, arson, conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence.
The hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday in St. Clair County, Mich.
“Obviously we have had a very intense investigation that has unfolded very rapidly,” said Burleigh County Sheriff Kelly Leben at a press conference on Thursday.
Leben said there are no other suspects at the moment and a motive has not yet been determined.
