Michael Arthur Howell

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An insurance ageny owner charged with killing an auditor is now facing 25 counts of embezzlement.

Michael Howell, owner of Dilworth Insurance Agency, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Sallie Rohrbach. Rohrbach was killed in May 2008 when she came to Charlotte to investigate Howell's agency.

The North Carolina Department of Insurance announced the embezzlement charges on Friday, after an eight-month investigation.

The department says Howell kept customers' insurance premiums instead of sending the money to insurance companies. The alleged embezzlement happened between March 2004 and May 2008.

Howell is being held without bond at the Mecklenburg County Jail on the murder charge.

Rohrbach was reported missing two days after arriving in Charlotte to investigate Howell's insurance business.

Howell told investigators Rohrbach left his office May 14. They later found blood in his business, and her body was found May 20 in a wooded area near Fort Mill, S.C.

Howell's next court hearing hasn't been set. A call to his attorney Friday wasn't immediately returned.