Howard Fleming was Sharona Fleming's uncle. He was killed by Perry Walsh after he found out that Howard was having an affair with his wife, Carolyn Walsh. Walsh kept his knowledge of the affair a secret and conceived a brilliant plan to get his revenge: Walsh knew that Howie was a con artist, was broke, and would accept any way to get easy money. Walsh approached Howie and told him that he had a foolproof scheme to rip off the country club--Howard would pretend to fall on a faulty step and Walsh and his caddy would be the unimpeachable witnesses to the fall, allowing Howard to sue the club for a fortune. As Walsh predicted, Howard took the bait. On the day of the "accident," Walsh and his caddy witness Howard's "fall." While the caddy ran off to get help, Walsh approached Howard, who remained sprawled out on the steps, and bashed his head several times against the steps.