Deceased/Not Found NY - Howard Lee "Zebra" Comis, 59, Bronx, 7 Oct 2011

cybervampira

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2014
Messages
15,973
Reaction score
69,036
Missing Person Case

Circumstances
Date of Last Contact
October 7, 2011
NamUs Case Created
January 17, 2012
Last Known Location Map
Location
New York City, New York 10463
County
Bronx County

upload_2018-7-22_12-50-38.jpeg
Howard Lee "Zebra" Comis at his desk at last known apartment (from his Facebook page)

upload_2018-7-22_12-50-58.jpeg
Howard Lee Comis (a.k.a. "Zebra")after Unification Church (Moonies) mass wedding years ago, in which he married a Japanese woman chosen for him​

Circumstances of Disappearance
Howard left his apartment and pit bull dog and never returned, likely left after 11 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2011. (My most recent information is that he left a dog with a neighbor, saying he would be going to Harlem for 4 days. He would come back shortly from a nearby Petland Discount store with dog food to leave for his neighbor. He never came back or returned e-mail messages from his neighbor and the neighbor eventually had to give the dog to the ASPCA. It's possible one or more people who were taking him to Harlem picked him up somewhere between his apartment and the Petland store and that person or persons knows something about his disappearance. This could have occurred on October 9, 2011. This information makes me doubt the sightings in Brooklyn or that he was far gone on drugs at the time of his disappearance.) He likely left a laptop. He left all the furniture provides him by Services of the Underserved. He may have also left the mobile broadband, or sold them, or had them stolen. He is bipolar and had an argument in a mental health clinic, run by Services for the Underserved and may have gone off medication, probably before September 14, 2011. He may have been selling this medication. From September 14 to September 24,2011--he made harassing phones calls to his daughter in Phoenix, Arizona, sounding insane. Another friend said he talked with Howard long before September 14 and Howard told him he was weaning himself off of his medicines, against the doctor's advice. And he was selling the unused medicines for money. He was going to college, maybe Liberty University or Phoenix University online programs, unemployed, living on Social Security disability payments. He was on my Verizon family plan and suddenly added a mobile broadband. He bought a new smartphone on 9/26/11, shortly after being beaten by a roommate, so that fight may have gotten his old cell phone broken. His calls went from 1,700 minutes in one month to nothing after October 8. His friends and relatives can't find him. Neighbors say he went to the Occupy Wall Street site and may have been arrested. He was in middle of forensics course at a university (Liberty or Phoenix?)when he disappeared, with plans to work on ongoing movie script in January 2012. He transferred to this latest unknown college/university after leaving a Walden University Master's Program in Forensic Psychology. He had a BA in Human Services from Empire State College before entering Walden University. One of his last contacts was with a friend in November, talking about the forensics class and his scriptwriting plans for January 2012. That memory may be faulty but another friend who had planned to go with Howard to the MLK dedication ceremony in Washington, DC, on October 16, said he didn't think Howard went and he said he saw Howard around October 16. A friend in Washington, DC, who was in phone contact with Howard through October 8 said Howard was going to go to the MLK ceremony around October 15 with another friend, probably from an African mosque Howard was said to be attending. He is known to many only as "Zebra" and his favorite hangout was 207th Street in Manhattan, where he frequented a pool hall. He also went at least once to an African-American barber on Broadway to get his hair braided. I have confirmed that he went off his medicines by September 14 or 24, 2011 and was pretty insane around that time, so he likely would have gotten worse and worse by the time he disappeared. About a year ago, he rented his bedroom to a couple, the wife was a crack addict. Her husband nearly killed Howard, breaking his nose and smashing his head against an air conditioner, according to one of Howard's friends and phone contacts. He told another friend only that someone had broken in and broke his computer during a fight. He was said to be glad to have acquired the pit bull after that.

Demographics
Missing Age
59 Years

Current Age
66 Years

First Name
Howard

Middle Name
Lee

Last Name
Comis

Nickname/Alias
Zebra

Sex
Male

Race / Ethnicity
White / Caucasian

Height
4' 10" (58 Inches)

Weight
130 - 180 lbs

Physical Description
Hair Color
Black

Head Hair Description
Long hair, probably dyed black to hide gray, balding at top. In braids. One possible sighting, in January or February 2012, has him living in the streets in the vicinity of 937 Fulton and Fulton and Classon, with dirty, discolored braids done by African-

Body Hair Description
Heavy black body hair.

Facial Hair Description
Has heavy 5 o'clock shadow despite shaving--no beard or mustache.

Left Eye Color
Brown

Right Eye Color
Brown

Eye Description
Brown or hazel eyes, drooping eyelids like Sylvestor Stallone.

Scar/mark
nose once broken when young, tongue tip cut, slit years ago.

Tattoo
inked swastika from long ago on back of right hand.

Clothing
Usually wears black beret, as seen in person and in his Facebook page photo. Tries to dress neat and fancy, youthful clothes, more like what an African-American dude would wear. Two recent possible sightings have him wearing jeans and a hooded plaid-like Timberland jacket with blue, black and gray squares, made of denim or wool. (This outfit doesn't sound like stuff he'd wear.) More recently, a neighbor says he didn't wear the beret and sunglasses outside--that instead he wears a black-and-white striped Mexican-type poncho, to fit the "Zebra" theme.

Eyewear
May wear sunglasses, as seen in his Facebook page photo.

Footwear
Usually fancy black shoes, so the recent sighting of him with black boots, seems questionable.

Transportation Notes
No car, would travel only by cheap bus to Washington, DC, or airport limo to airport.

DNA sample submitted on 2/05/12.

NamUs: Missing Person Case

Case | Howard L. Comis

His Facebook: Howard Comis
 
His mother‘s obit has the following information:
She had three children, all born in Utica, New York:

[...]

Howard Lee Comis (deceased, murdered, likely on Oct. 8, 2011, no known burial or cremation),

[...]

As far as I know, Howard's murderer is still at large.
 
Theres a mention here too
"Howard lee Comis was born on 19 November 1951, in Utica, Oneida, New York, United States as the son of Rose mary Comis. He died on 8 October 2011, in Yonkers, Westchester, New York, United States, at the age of 59."
 

Staff online

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
171
Guests online
562
Total visitors
733

Forum statistics

Threads
625,577
Messages
18,506,481
Members
240,818
Latest member
wilson.emily3646
Back
Top