A well-liked St. John’s University senior, who surfed, played guitar and was close with his family, was found mysteriously shot dead on a quiet, residential Long Island street, police said yesterday.
Cops discovered the body of Frank Howell, 22, slumped over the steering wheel of his blood-splattered 1993 Pontiac Bonneville, which was parked along tree-lined Montgomery Avenue in North Babylon on Saturday.
Three bullets had been pumped at close range into his head and neck, Suffolk County detectives said.
Howell, of Wantagh, L.I., had taken the semester off from his general studies classes to drive a taxi for Hicksville Yellow Cab and was a typical student who had no problems and no enemies, his family said.
“He was such a great kid, so full of energy,” said his brother-in-law, Anthony Ciminera.
“We just want to find whoever did this and make sure they get the maximum penalty.”
Police believe Howell was killed around 3 a.m. Saturday, and one neighborhood resident told The Post he heard what sounded like a car screeching away at that time.
Howell’s body was discovered 12 hours later when cops responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle parked in front of a house.
Exactly what Howell was doing in the area is a mystery.
The driver’s side window of his car was rolled down and the vehicle was oddly parked 3 ½ feet from the curb, leading to one theory that murder was the result of a drug deal gone wrong.
But police and neighbors described the street as a “very low-crime area” where families feel safe and secure at all hours.