COEUR d’ALENE — A former Idaho State Police trooper will spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering his wife.

Daniel C. Howard, 58, was convicted in March of second-degree murder and domestic battery. Prosecutors said he killed his wife, Kendy Howard, via asphyxiation in February 2021 and then staged the scene to make it appear as though she died by suicide.

First District Judge Lamont Berecz sentenced Daniel Howard on Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder. Daniel Howard also received a 10-year sentence for domestic battery, which will run concurrently with his life sentence.

Berecz said Daniel Howard committed a “heinous, outrageous murder” that justified the sentence. He pointed to the “cold, callous contempt” Daniel Howard showed to his wife’s family after the murder, including Kendy Howard’s daughter, Brooke Wilkins, who Daniel Howard had raised from infancy as his stepdaughter.

“It’s clear to me that you’re a remorseless killer and I don’t say that lightly,” Berecz told Howard before handing down the sentence.

Daniel Howard professed his innocence in court and said he loved his wife.

“I’m not that monster people have portrayed me to be,” he said.

Berecz rejected this assertion.

“You killed somebody who brought a lot of life and light to those around her,” he said. “You snuffed that out because of your own pride and greed.”

This is a developing story.