Mark Howerton is accused of murdering Trinity University cheerleader Cayley Mandadi, but defense attorneys argue Mandadi’s drug use may have caused her death.
SAN ANTONIO — A jury will decide the verdict in the trial of Mark Howerton, who is charged with murdering 19-year-old Cayley Mandadi, a Trinity University cheerleader.
An hour and a half was spent in closing arguments—the state argued that Howerton caused the injuries Mandadi experienced. Her official cause of death was blunt force trauma, however defense attorneys argued that Mandadi could have overdosed from high levels of MDMA, or Molly, in her system.
The two were last seen leaving the Mala Luna music festival in San Antonio together on October 29, 2017. In closing arguments, the state attorneys say Howerton was driving around with Mandadi for six hours before he took her to a hospital in Luling.
The state argues that Mandadi arrived to the hospital “lifeless” and without a pulse. Mandadi had her pants around her ankles and there was blood on the front passenger seat of Howerton’s car, according to testimony.
The state attorney’s office displayed pictures of Mandadi’s injuries, included bruising on her arms, legs, and on her ear.
“The defendant beat Cayley Mandadi’s face so hard that it caused her brain to strip away from her skull,” state attorney Alessandra Crenshaw said. The state showed a graphic autopsy photo showing blood in Mandadi’s brain.
To support their case—state attorneys presented text messages between Mandadi and Howerton, including suicide threats that Howerton sent, saying “if I leave it’s death.” The state attorneys reminded the jury of an incident on October 15 when Howerton trashed Mandadi’s dorm room after she went to a frat party where her ex-boyfriend would be. The state attorneys argue that Mandadi was trying to end her relationship with Howerton on the 29th.
Defense attorney John Hunter dismissed the argument as “high school drama” and said the state doesn’t understand the science behind the case.
“You’re not here to decide if [Howerton] is a good boyfriend, those aren’t the issues. The question is whether he intentionally caused her death,” Hunter said.
Closing arguments showed that Mandadi and Howerton left the music festival and had sex in the parking lot near the Whataburger corporate offices off of Highway 281. Defense attorneys say the two had texted about moving to Houston together. Hunter also argued that his client didn’t have criminal intent because he took her to the hospital.
The defense argues that Mandadi’s stimulant use that weekend could have caused hypertension or high blood pressure, which could’ve led to a brain bleed, which he says could have happened if Mandadi had bumped her head while the two were having sex in Howerton’s car.
“There’s reasonable doubt all over the place,” Hunter said.
A hung jury led to the 2019 case being dismissed. The jury in the current case, made up of eight women and four men, started deliberating around 11:20am on Friday.
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