Neenah man charged in homicide of Cashay Henderson
One day after the death of Cashay Henderson, two witnesses said the man now charged in the homicide was acting strange, making paranoid statements, pointing a gun at people and threatening to harm others.
He also showed the witnesses a cellphone video from inside Henderson’s apartment that showed her body, before the building was set on fire.
That’s according to the criminal complaint filed against Cordell M. Howze, 33, of Neenah on Sunday. He was charged with first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The Feb. 26 death of Henderson marked the third homicide of an identified Black transgender woman in Milwaukee in less than nine months. Henderson was a Chicago native who for years was active in a support group for Black transgender women.
It has further rattled the city’s LGBTQ+ community amid a rise in antitrans rhetoric and public policy nationwide. At a vigil last week, members of the trans community spoke about fearing for their own safety and thoughts of detransitioning as a result.
Another vigil and a community call to action event has been scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday at Zao MKE Church, 2319 E. Kenwood Blvd.
For almost a month prior to Henderson’s death, Howze was in custody at the Winnebago County Jail for violating terms of his extended supervision from a prior felony conviction. He was jailed Jan. 28, one day after allegedly fleeing police, according to the jail and online court records.
He was released Feb. 24, two days before Henderson’s death and three days before Winnebago County prosecutors filed charges against him in connection with the January fleeing incident.
Howze was arrested Feb. 28 after leading police on a car chase that ended in Menasha. He made his fist court appearance in Milwaukee on Sunday, where his attorney indicated he may not be competent to proceed.
He is due back in court March 20 to review the results of a competency examination, online court records said.
Henderson’s death comes after the homicides of Brazil Johnson, 28, and Regina “Mya” Allen, 35, in June and September 2022, respectively.
A 31-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with Allen’s death, but not in Johnson’s case. A reward of $28,000 is being offered for information leading to those responsible. According to the criminal complaint: On Feb. 25, a person who knows Howze told police he agreed to drive him from Neenah to Milwaukee. After being dropped him, Howze then visited his mother, who saw him with a handgun, before getting picked up by someone else.
Police and fire crews were called to Henderson’s apartment, on the 5300 block of North 29th Street at 9:21 a.m. the next morning. Investigators located a gasoline can in the living room and determined the cause of the fire was arson. An autopsy showed that Henderson died of gunshot wounds.
Neighbors on the same floor of the apartment building told police they thought they heard something loud, like a gunshot, around 5:30 a.m. that morning.
They smelled gas two hours later, noticed smoke trickling into their home about a half-hour later and called police at 9 a.m. after knocking on Henderson’s door with no answer.
Police eventually located a pole camera about two blocks from Henderson’s home that captured footage of two people driving in her car towards the home at 3:44 a.m. that morning. Another surveillance camera from the rear of Henderson’s apartment building showed someone walking away from the building at 8:45 a.m.
That person was wearing clothes consistent with the passenger in Henderson’s car.
Police eventually spoke to the person who drove Howze from Neenah to Milwaukee. He told them he was wearing clothing similar to what was seen in video surveillance footage.
He also said that the day after the shooting, Howze showed up at the man’s home with a handgun with a green laser attached to it. The man and his wife said Howze was acting strange, had a blank stare on his face and was making paranoid statements.
The man said Howze showed him a video from inside Henderson’s apartment, showing her body. He Howze told him he “caught a body” of a transgender person – meaning he killed her.