Michael Arthur Howell, the Charlotte insurance agent charged with killing a state insurance examiner in May, will not be tried for his life.

Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Beth Greene announced Thursday in court that prosecutors would not seek the death penalty against Howell.

Howell, his hands shackled, turned toward his parents and wife and nodded as he was escorted from the courtroom.

Greene declined to comment.

Howell, 41, is charged with first-degree murder, accused of killing Sallie Rohrbach, 44, of Angier. Rohrbach, an insurance investigator, went to Charlotte on May 12 to audit his business, Dilworth Insurance Agency. She disappeared two days later. Rohrbach's state-owned car, a Chevrolet Malibu, was found in the parking lot of a Bojangles' restaurant less than a half mile from Howell's insurance agency. Her body was discovered in a rural area near Fort Mill, S.C.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Howell would be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Defense attorney Mark Foster said he's not surprised by the prosecutors' decision not to seek the death penalty.

"The death penalty is for the worst of the worst," he said. "I don't think this case falls into that category."

Rohrbach had been reviewing bank records in the agency that showed unremitted premiums to an insurance company. A search warrant application included copies of e-mail from Rohrbach about her findings at Howell's insurance agency.

"He gave me 16 months of bank statements today, ... and there were issues in each month," Rohrbach wrote. "No negative balances but he is floating money."

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