OSBI: Suspect Sentenced In McClain County Man’s Murder

The Oklahoma State Bureau Of Investigation says a decade after a McClain County man was found dead, a jury has found his killer guilty and sentenced him to life without parole.

Thursday, a jury sentenced 56-year-old Howard Mason Jr. for the 2006 murder of 77-year-old Burney Ray Bounds.

In October of 2006, Bounds was found dead inside his home on his bedroom floor. The investigation revealed Bounds was bound with duct tape, and he was strangled with a belt.

Despite leads, the case went cold. OSBI agents along with local law enforcement worked to find Bounds’ killer until DNA, fingerprints, and a palm print collected from the scene matched to Howard Mason Jr. in 2015.

Mason Jr. was arrested in El Paso, Texas in May of 2015 on a complaint of first-degree murder.

The jury began hearing the evidence February 27, 2017.

Mason Jr. was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.