[B]ENNINGTON — Police have arrested a man believed to be responsible for the stabbing death of an elderly woman in January.
Timothy Butler, 31, was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon, according to Vermont State Police.
His arrest followed an “intensive investigation,” authorities said in a news release.
Butler, of Sunderland, is scheduled to be arraigned at Bennington County Superior Court Criminal Division on Thursday on charges of first degree murder and burglary. He is being held without bail at the Marble Valley Correctional Facility in Rutland.
On the night of Jan. 4, a friend of Helen Jones discovered her dead in her Buck Hill Road in Arlington. Investigators later said they found evidence of forced entry into the home where she lived alone. A subsequent autopsy showed that Jones died from multiple stab wounds.
Butler was arrested at approximately 3 p.m. Wednesday while in a vehicle at the Arlington Recreation Park on Route 7A.
Following the arrest, detectives executed a search warrant at Butler’s residence on North Road.
The investigation, led by the state police Major Crime Unit, is ongoing. Detectives continue to conduct interviews and gather evidence in the case.
In the news release, Department of Public Safety Commissioner Thomas D. Anderson praised the work of the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigation detectives and the Bennington County State’s Attorney’s office. He said the case was solved because of “the dedicated focus and tireless efforts” of detectives, troopers, Erica Marthage and the Bennington County State’s Attorney’s office.
“The Major Crime Unit was formed two years ago so that highly trained detectives are able to quickly and singularly focus on the most serious and horrific crimes committed in Vermont,” he stated. “The arrest in this case clearly shows the value of the Major Crime Unit in apprehending and bringing to justice those who prey on the most vulnerable Vermonters.”
