[B]ENNINGTON — Area residents and law enforcement officials expressed relief Thursday after a 31-year-old Sunderland man was arrested in the stabbing death of an elderly Arlington woman.
Timothy J. Butler appeared in Bennington Superior Court Criminal Division to deny charges of first degree murder and burglary of an occupied dwelling armed with a dangerous weapon.
Erica Marthage, Bennington County State’s Attorney, said the charges could bring a prison term of 35 years to life.
Major Glenn Hall, commander of the Criminal Division of Vermont State Police, said during a press conference that he hopes the arrest is a first step toward providing the family of the victim, 81-year-old Helen Jones, with some closure.
“I would also acknowledge that this crime had a huge impact on the Arlington community, as well as across the state,” Hall said, “and we certainly hope we can put some minds at ease with an arrest.”
Butler, who had previously worked for Jones at her 440 Buck Hill Road home, came to the attention of state police investigators a few days after Jones’ body was found by neighbors on Jan. 4.
In the following weeks, a large team of officers from around the state participated in the investigation, “with at least 20 detectives at any given time,” Hall said.
Butler was arrested Wednesday afternoon without incident while in a vehicle parked at the Recreation Park off Route 7A in Arlington, police reported.
Butler was ordered held without bail by Judge William Cohen, pending an as-yet unscheduled court appearance within three weeks.
Teresa Jones, one of the victim’s daughters, praised the investigation.
“I would like to just say that ‘thank you’ doesn’t seem enough to local and state law enforcement, the victim’s advocacy, the state’s attorney, and most importantly the current and former residents of Arlington for their outstanding support to this family,” she said.
Her sister, Heather Maurice, added, “We would like to say that we feel relieved, but it doesn’t bring our mom back.”
Also in the courtroom Thursday was a friend of Butler’s, Harry Gordon, of Bennington. “I just couldn’t believe it, that they were implicating him in that. I just wouldn’t have believe that of him,” Gordon said.
Gordon has known Butler for many years, and they worked together a few times in the past, primarily on construction jobs. “I came down here to try to make sense of it all,” he said. “It’s hard to believe … I do feel sorry for the [Jones] family.”
Marthage, the state’s attorney, thanked the state police for an “exhaustive investigation that has taken more than two months, during which time “the VSP committed significant resources and personnel” to the effort.
“It has remained a priority for all of the officers involved,” Marthage said, “despite the passage of time and multiple other demands” on their time.
Hall said detectives “worked tirelessly on this case,” which became the “No. 1 priority of the Vermont State Police.”
The case “was an example of how difficult this type of investigation can be,” Hall added, referring to the lack of witnesses. The victim lived alone, and her death was not immediately discovered.
Hall and Marthage said they couldn’t discuss some aspects of the case as the investigation is ongoing. That includes whether drugs were a factor.
“What I can say is that Timothy Butler was interviewed early on in this investigation,” Hall said.
The affidavit, submitted by State Police Detective Sgt. Denis Girouard, said authorities were soon approached by a woman who knew Butler. The woman said she knew he had worked for Jones in the past at her home and was concerned he might have been involved in the homicide.
When she heard about Jones’ death, the woman “said the hair on the back of her head stood up and she got a knot in her stomach,” according to the affidavit.
State police interviewed Butler for the first time on Jan. 6 at his home on North Road in Sunderland. Over the next several weeks, police returned to the residence six times to seek a swab on Butler for DNA evidence and spoke with his family members, but Butler did not contact the detectives afterward.
Police received an anonymous tip on Feb. 26 that pointed authorities to Butler as the prime suspect. Butler told someone he had killed an elderly woman and that “DNA would prove him guilty,” according to the affidavit.
Marthage said authorities are still awaiting the results of DNA results.
The tip also advised that Butler had a gun and had considered killing himself.
On Feb. 28, police said they learned that a woman who knew Butler, identified in the affidavit as “TT,” was the source of the tip. She subsequently told detectives that she had been drinking with Butler on Kelly Stand Road in Sunderland on Feb. 24 when they started talking about the homicide, “and Butler started crying” and said, “I didn’t mean to do it,” according to the affidavit.
The woman also quoted Butler as saying, “My DNA will give me up,” police said. She had noticed changes in his behavior and demeanor since the homicide.
Police said they later obtained surveillance recordings of a conversation between the woman and Butler, during which he made several incriminating statements, according to the affidavit. Jones called him by name after he entered the home and said she was going to call the police.
“Butler said he got scared and one thing led to another,” according to the affidavit.
Butler also allegedly said he burned the clothing and shoes he wore that night in a brush pile in his yard.
Police said Jones was found on her back in the ground level hallway of her home with multiple stab wounds to her torso and her right hand. They said Butler apparently gained entry to the home via the main door which he was able to open through a broken window.
Relief in Arlington
In Arlington on Thursday, several residents expressed a sense of relief about the arrest.
One local man said he once lived near Butler. “I know his whole family, but I have lost touch with them over the last 20 years,” he said. “I was shocked when I heard it … I was shocked that it was him.”
He added that he had come to believe drugs were involved, saying, “To be honest, I thought it was a local with a drug problem, and I thought maybe he was in the house and surprised her. But we may never know.”
“It’s drugs coming into our area,” another man said he and other residents believe is likely. He noted that there were several reported burglaries in the Arlington area around the time of the murder.
“I think what I feel, and I heard other people say they feel, is we are very relieved,” said state Rep. Cynthia Browning, D-Arlington.
It was also a shock, she said, that the person arrested was from the area.
Now, there is grief for the Jones’ family and for Butler’s family, too, she said. “It’s just so awful all around,” Brown said.
