Northampton attorney John B. Howard found dead in his office
NORTHAMPTON — Longtime city attorney John B. Howard was found dead in his Market Street office early Tuesday morning in a case that does not appear suspicious, police said.
Police and fire department personnel were called to Howard’s office at 4 Market St. at about 9:15 a.m. for a report of an unresponsive male. He was dead when fire personnel arrived, police said in a press release. He was discovered by a family member, police said.
The case has been turned over to the state medical examiner’s office and is being investigated by the Northwestern district attorney’s office and city and state police detective units.
Howard was a business and real estate attorney who earned his law degree from Boston College Law School in 1975 and opened his Northampton practice a year later, according to his website.
Known as “J.B.,” Howard lived in Chesterfield, where he served as town moderator since 1982. He was originally from Hatfield and grew up in Easthampton.
— CHAD CAIN
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