The Tompkins County man sentenced in February to a minimum of 31 years in state prison for orchestrating the kidnapping, torture, and murder of an Ithaca resident two years ago will spend more time behind bars for separate crimes.
Last August, Joseph Howell was found guilty of breaking into a home in Chemung County while armed with a shotgun. He not only stole from the homeowner but kidnapped him as well. The Newfield man was sentenced to 17 years in prison for robbery, burglary, and kidnapping convictions. He will not begin serving the Chemung County sentence until he finishes his sentence for the May 2023 abduction and murder of Thomas Rath, of Ithaca.
Rath’s body was located in a shallow grave in Tioga County three months later. Howell was one of 13 people arrested in the case.
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