Michigan woman charged in college student’s New Year’s death sought for extradition after fleeing to Thailand

Michigan authorities and the FBI are seeking extradition from Thailand for a woman charged in the death of a college student who fled the country allegedly to avoid being prosecuted.

Ben Kable, a student at Michigan State University, died Jan. 1 after a 2016 BMW 320i driven by Tubtim “Sue” Howson fatally struck him in Oakland Township, Michigan, at around 5:49 a.m., according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies say Kable was “in the roadway” when he was hit by the BMW, but it’s not clear if he was “standing or walking in the roadway when he was hit.” Kable was home for holiday break when he was killed, according to court documents.

Howson stopped the car for a short period of time before fleeing the scene, officials said, adding that she was on her way to work at a Birmingham, Michigan grocery store.

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She boarded a plane on Jan. 3 with stops in Dallas and Helsinki, Finland before arriving to her destination in Bangkok, Thailand, according to travel records reviewed by the FBI. The FBI says Howson flew Finnair to get to Bangkok.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement posted to Facebook that his office is working with its partners at the FBI to extradite Howson back to the United States.

“The person that we have as our suspect had fled the country prior to being identified as our suspect. As a result, we had to work very much behind the scenes with our partners from the FBI and the prosecutors office to get all the correct paperwork and warrants to seek international extradition from Thailand to hold the suspect to account,” Bouchard said. 

“I call on the Thai government to extradite her so we can hold her accountable for her actions involving this young man’s tragic death,” he added.

Thailand has an extradition treaty with the United States.

An unsealed FBI complaint states that Howson “allegedly told a close associate after the crash that she thought she killed somebody and was going back to Thailand.”

READ THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE.

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“When encouraged to turn herself in to police, Howson allegedly stated, ‘no cops, no cops,'” officials wrote in the complaint.

Ben Kable’s father, Mike, told FOX 2 Detroit he doesn’t understand how Tubtim can live with herself after allegedly fleeing the scene.

“Just the lack of empathy and humanity it would take and then just plot your getaway… All we can do is cross our fingers that we get some justice,” Mike Kable said.

When FOX 2 went to the home of Howson on Wednesday, her husband said “Not my fault I wasn’t even in the country.”

“Two families have lost somebody here,” he said.

A felony warrant was already issued for Howson’s alleged failure to stop at the scene resulting in serious impairment or death, and the FBI says there is probable cause to charge Howson for felony interstate flight to avoid prosecution.