GUILTY OH - Cathleen 'Cat' Howatt, 46, found strangled, Columbus, 19 April 2016

The middle-aged woman [known] as Kathy or Kat was killed in her tent in the camp. Her body was found about 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Detectives were not releasing her name because they are still working to confirm her identity and notify relatives. An autopsy is scheduled for [Wednesday] morning.

Later on Tuesday, police arrested Danny Johnson, 34, in Reynoldsburg and charged him with murder. Police listed him also as homeless. Court documents say that he was involved in a relationship with the woman and had been abusive in the past. Others in the homeless camp told police that he beat her to death.

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All Cathleen "Cat" Howatt wanted was to be a mom...

Her inner turmoil, though, led her to alcohol, homelessness and a path that ended on Tuesday, when the life was strangled out of her in Columbus.

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County prosecutors argued Danny L. Johnson, 35, was in “a fighting mood” early on the morning of April 19, 2016, after he had scuffled with a camp neighbor known as “Cowboy,” possibly regarding an affair with Cathleen Howatt, who lived with Johnson and was pronounced dead later that day.

Johnson was found guilty of two counts of murder, one count of domestic violence and one count of tampering with evidence.

After the verdict, Judge William Woods sentenced Johnson to 15 years to life in prison, as well as a two-year concurrent sentence for tampering with evidence.

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Before sentencing, the victim’s brother, Bill Howatt, 49, tearfully asked the judge to hand down a maximum sentence for Johnson.

“We got what we wanted,” the victim’s daughter, 25-year-old Peyton Williams, told The Dispatch after the trial.

Bill Howatt told the newspaper his sister was a loving mother of four who came to Columbus in an attempt to escape circumstances contributing to her alcoholism. She wanted a fresh start. She wanted to prove she could do better.

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