Earl Howard, North Dakota: Plot, Dropped Charge, 25-Year Sentence

Earl Howard is a Canadian man who pleaded guilty in a North Dakota court to conspiracy to commit murder, arson, conspiracy to commit arson, and conspiracy to tamper with evidence in the January 2020 killing of Chad Entzel, a 42-year-old Bismarck man whose wife Howard was having an affair with. On February 14, 2022, a South Central District Court judge sentenced Howard to 25 years in prison, with suspended terms on the remaining counts and five years of supervised probation to follow.¹ Prosecutors said the plot was driven by a $600,000 life insurance policy and a plan to start over in Texas with Nikki Entzel, the victim’s wife, who was later convicted at trial and sentenced to life.

What Happened on January 2, 2020

Around 5:30 p.m. that day, Nikki Entzel called 911 to report a fire at the couple’s home outside Bismarck and told dispatchers she feared her husband was inside. Firefighters and Burleigh County deputies found Chad Entzel’s body on the bedroom floor next to a burning propane heater, and the scene initially looked like a suicide complicated by an accidental fire.²

That reading collapsed within days. State Forensic Medical Examiner Dr. Williams Massello III determined Chad Entzel had died from at least two gunshot wounds, either of them fatal, and ruled out suicide.³ An arson-detection dog picked up accelerants, and investigators traced two separate, unconnected fires: one in the bedroom, one in the basement furnace room.⁴ The driveway security camera had been deactivated before the shooting, and a forensic search of Nikki Entzel’s phone showed she had logged into the system multiple times.

The Affair and the Plan

Howard, 41, was a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen from Belwood, Ontario. He told investigators his relationship with Nikki Entzel began during a trip to Minneapolis, where she met him at the Mall of America.⁵ In the days before the killing, the two shared a joint checking account, stayed together at a Staybridge Suites in Bismarck, and were caught on Walmart surveillance cameras kissing in public on December 29, 2019. Nikki had flown to Minneapolis on a one-way ticket on December 27, telling her husband by text that she was at work or in training.⁶

Prosecutors said the couple planned to kill Chad Entzel to collect his $600,000 life insurance policy, on which Nikki was the sole beneficiary, and move to Texas.⁷ Days before the murder, Nikki took out a $26,000 renter’s insurance policy and sent Howard proof of it.⁸ She had been house-hunting in Texas and had a job interview scheduled there.⁹ Digital evidence introduced at trial included a Google search for a funeral home from Nikki’s device at 10:45 a.m. on January 2, 2020, hours before she reported the fire and claimed to learn her husband was dead.¹⁰

Arrest at the Border

Less than a week after the fire, on January 7, 2020, the Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department brought Nikki Entzel in for a six-hour recorded interview.¹¹ She and Howard gave sharply conflicting accounts of who pulled the trigger. Nikki said Howard shot her husband while she waited in a car. Howard said Nikki fired the shotgun and that he later agreed to “take care of it” by setting the fires.² On January 9, Nikki confessed that the killing had been planned.⁹

Howard was heading back to Canada. Just after midnight on January 9, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested him at the Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron, Michigan, and Ontario. He waived extradition, and was booked into the Burleigh County Detention Centre on January 11 on a $1 million bond.¹²¹³

Why the Murder Charge Was Dropped

Howard was initially charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, arson, conspiracy to commit arson, and conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence.¹⁴ In May 2021, the court dismissed the Class AA murder charge against him after an evaluation of the firearm could not determine who had pulled the trigger.⁹ With the murder count off the table, Howard pleaded guilty on October 22, 2021, to arson, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit arson, and conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence.¹⁵ Judge Douglas Bahr tentatively accepted the plea pending a presentence investigation.

The 25-Year Sentence

At his February 14, 2022 sentencing, Howard received 25 years on the murder conspiracy count. He also received suspended sentences of 10 years each for arson and conspiracy to commit arson, five years for conspiracy to tamper with evidence, and five years of supervised probation to follow.¹ Under the plea agreement, he must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence, roughly 21 years, before parole eligibility. With credit for about two years already served, Judge Bahr noted Howard would be about 64 at his earliest possible release.¹⁶

Howard did not speak at the hearing. His attorney, Philip Becher, told the court Howard was “taking responsibility for his role” and that the 25 years was not a “slap on the wrist.”¹⁷ Chad Entzel’s mother, Deb Entzel, addressed Howard directly: “How could you do such a cruel thing to another person that you didn’t even know, that did nothing to you?” She said the murder had left “a wound so deep it would never heal.”¹ His sister Lori Kraus told Howard, “You have devastated our lives, and my family is past the brink of exhaustion.”¹⁶ Judge Bahr said the family’s support for the plea agreement was a “significant consideration” and noted Howard had no prior criminal history.

What Happened to Nikki Entzel

Nikki Entzel pleaded not guilty and went to trial in Burleigh County District Court from September 26 through October 4, 2022, prosecuted by State’s Attorney Julie Lawyer.¹⁸ Prosecutors listed Howard as a potential witness but did not call him. Lawyer explained that because Howard had not been charged with the murder itself, he retained a Fifth Amendment right on that subject, and calling him carried the risk that he would either refuse to answer or incriminate himself as the shooter.¹⁹ The jury deliberated about two hours before finding her guilty on all counts.²⁰

On February 17, 2023, Judge Bahr sentenced Nikki Entzel to life in prison with the possibility of parole. She must serve at least 85 percent of her sentence, a minimum of 36 years and 105 days, before becoming eligible for release. She received consecutive terms of 10 years and 5 years on the arson and evidence-tampering counts, each with three years of probation.¹⁸ She appealed, arguing through attorney Thomas Glass that the state had failed to prove a conspiracy and that the decision not to call Howard suggested he would not have supported the prosecution’s theory. On October 3, 2023, the North Dakota Supreme Court rejected her appeal, holding that sufficient evidence supported the verdict.²¹

Where Howard Is Now

Earl Howard is incarcerated at the James River Correctional Center in North Dakota. His estimated release date is November 2040.⁹ Nikki Entzel is serving her life sentence and will not be eligible for parole until approximately 2059.

1
Law & Crime. Rival Sentenced to Prison for Role in Love Triangle Arson and Murder
2
ABC News. How Police Determined North Dakota Man’s Death Was Not a Suicide
3
KFYR-TV. Autopsy Pending for the Victim of Burleigh County Fire
4
Inforum. Fire Details Emerge in Bismarck Murder Conspiracy Trial
5
ABC News. Convicted North Dakota Woman Speaks Publicly for the First Time
6
KFYR-TV. Nikki Entzel Trial: A Timeline of Events
7
Court TV. Cheating Wife Murder Trial: Victim’s Friend Testifies
8
Oxygen. Nikki Sue Entzel Trial for Chad Entzel Murder Begins
9
Inforum. Bismarck Woman Convicted in Love Triangle Slaying Appeals Murder Conspiracy Conviction
10
KFYR-TV. Texts, Emails, YouTube Videos Admitted as Evidence
11
CBC News. Belwood, Ontario Man Sentenced in North Dakota Death
12
The Times Herald. Man Wanted for Murder to Return to North Dakota
13
Guelph Mercury. Belwood Man Held on $1M Bond in North Dakota Murder Case
14
Detroit News. Man Accused in Bismarck Death Extradited From Michigan
15
Inforum. Canadian Man Pleads Guilty in Bismarck Slaying; Trial Delayed for Co-Defendant
16
Grand Forks Herald. Canadian Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Bismarck Love Triangle Killing
17
Oxygen. Earl Howard Gets 25 Years in Plot to Kill Chad Entzel
18
KX News. Nikki Entzel Sentencing Taking Place This Hour
19
KFYR-TV. State Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Nikki Sue Entzel Case
20
KFYR-TV. Justice Bahr Sentences Bismarck Woman to Life for Conspiring to Kill Husband, Burn Home
21
WDAY Radio. ND Supreme Court Rules Against Nikki Entzel