Massena man slated for Jan. 23 trial in SUNY Potsdam student's murder

Andy Gardner, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·3 min read

Nov. 7—CANTON — A trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 23 for Michael J. Snow, charged in the murder of a SUNY Potsdam student in February.

The 31-year-old Massena resident is accused of shooting and killing Elizabeth M. Howell, 21, on College Park Road near the SUNY Potsdam campus on Feb. 18. A grand jury in April handed up an indictment charging Snow with four felonies: second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and first-degree criminal use of a firearm. He has denied the charges. If convicted of murder, Snow faces up to a life sentence in state prison.

Although they haven't been scheduled yet, his defense counsel is expected to request pre-trial hearings on issues like which pieces of evidence can be admitted at trial, or if any statements Snow may have given to police can be admitted. Snow is represented by St. Lawrence County Chief Public Defender James M. McGahan. Mr. McGahan did not return requests for comment.

St. Lawrence County District Attorney Gary M. Pasqua on Friday afternoon said the murder weapon has not yet been recovered.

Investigators recently searched rivers for the gun Snow allegedly used to kill Ms. Howell, along the route he is believed to have taken after fleeing the murder scene. He allegedly went east on Route 11B to Malone, north on Route 37 to Akwesasne and west on Route 37 back to Massena. State police divers the week of Aug. 22 searched the Raquette and St. Regis rivers below bridges that cross those waters along Route 37 in Akwesasne. In May, state police divers searched the west branch of the St. Regis River below a bridge along Route 11B.

Snow was arrested the day after Ms. Howell's murder, Feb. 19, in a police raid of his 250 Main St. apartment in Massena. During Snow's arraignment in April, Mr. Pasqua told St. Lawrence County Judge Gregory P. Storie that investigators recovered a sawed-off shotgun while executing a search warrant at Snow's apartment. That weapon is not believed to be tied to the murder.

During Snow's arraignment in April, Mr. Pasqua called Ms. Howell's murder a random act of violence.

Although Snow was arrested at the Main Street apartment, during his arraignment on the indictment he told Judge Gregory P. Storie that he lives at 50 Park Ave. in Massena. He inherited the 50 Park Ave. house from his mother, Paula N. Snow, after she died there on April 1, 2019, allegedly by suicide. A friend of Snow's, Raymond G. Lancto III, 30, also died in the 50 Park Ave. house, from a suspected drug overdose on Oct. 8, 2020.

Witnesses at the scene of Ms. Howell's murder near the Crane School of Music on the evening of Feb. 18 told police they heard three shots fired from a gray four-door sedan, and they directed responding officers to the victim, who had fled a short distance on foot.

Ms. Howell was found unconscious at 5:51 p.m. that day, and responding officers initiated lifesaving measures. She was then taken to Canton-Potsdam Hospital, where she died just before 7 p.m., officials said. Mr. Pasqua has said that Snow had no connection to Ms. Howell prior to the shooting.

Ms. Howell was studying music education at the Crane School of Music.

In February, her parents, Joe and Ann Howell, spoke about their daughter's murder with The New York Post in February at the family's home in Patterson, Putnam County, about 60 miles north of New York City. They said she was likely "a random victim in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Her parents described Elizabeth, called Beth by family and friends, as "a talented musician, a dear friend, an all-around great person." She was a cellist who performed with the Crane Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Howell said his daughter was "always willing to help you out."