The murder of Pamela Butler
Washington, District of Columbia · 2009
Overview
Pamela Butler, a 47-year-old computer specialist at the Environmental Protection Agency, was last seen on February 12, 2009, outside her home on Fourth Street in northwest Washington, D.C. Her boyfriend at the time, Jose Angel Rodriguez-Cruz, was a suspect, and cameras at her house recorded him entering and leaving, but police had no body and no concrete evidence and made no arrest for eight years. A court declared her legally dead in 2016, which allowed police to pursue murder charges. In early 2017 a cold case detective, Michael Fulton, re-examined the file; police said he found information suggesting a troubled history of domestic violence that, with evidence already collected, supported a first-degree murder warrant. Rodriguez-Cruz was arrested in Arlington, Virginia, on April 7 or 8, 2017. On October 6, 2017, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, said he had punched and strangled her, and agreed to show police where he buried her, for 12 years in prison. He pointed to the median of Interstate 95 in Stafford County, Virginia. Police searched on December 8, 2017, and then decided the remains could not be recovered. Her body has never been found. His first wife, Marta Rodriguez, disappeared from Arlington in 1989 after telling police he had assaulted and kidnapped her; remains found on I-95 in 1991 were identified as hers in 2018, and he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in her death in 2020.
How it was solved
There was no new forensic test behind this arrest; it came from a fresh look at an old file. For eight years Pamela Butler's case had a suspect and no body. Her boyfriend at the time, Jose Angel Rodriguez-Cruz, was recorded on cameras at her house walking in and out over the weekend she vanished, according to the charging documents as reported by DC Witness, and police found latex gloves, plastic consistent with a trash bag and car-washing supplies; dogs alerted to human decay around her car. None of that produced a charge. In 2016 a court declared Butler legally dead, and NBC Washington reported that the declaration let police pursue murder charges. Early in 2017 a Metropolitan Police cold case detective, Michael Fulton, took over the file. Police said he found additional information suggesting a troubled history of domestic violence and put it together with evidence already collected to obtain a first-degree murder warrant, though the Associated Press reported that it was not immediately clear what led to the arrest. Rodriguez-Cruz was taken into custody in Arlington, Virginia, on April 7 or 8, 2017. The confession came afterward, as part of a plea: on October 6, 2017, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, said he punched and strangled her, and agreed to show police where he buried her in return for a 12-year sentence. He said she is in the median of Interstate 95 in Stafford County. Police searched on December 8, 2017 and decided the remains could not be recovered. The investigation also led to the identification, in 2018, of his first wife's remains, found on I-95 in 1991.
Sources
- Ex-Boyfriend Arrested in Case of Missing Woman (April 8, 2017)
“The Environmental Protection Agency analyst was last seen Feb. 12, 2009, outside her home on Fourth Street in Northwest Washington”
- Murder charges for ex-boyfriend in case of DC woman missing 8 years (April 8, 2017)
“some additional information, which suggested a troubled history of domestic violence”
- Arrest in eight year disappearance of Pamela Butler (April 10, 2017)
“Authorities reopened the case in February, but it was not immediately clear what led them to arrest him this week.”
- Eight years after Pamela Butler went missing, a man was sentenced for her murder (October 12, 2017)
“As part of the plea deal, Rodriguez-Cruz must provide police with the location of Butler’s body.”
- Suspect in Missing Woman's Death Will Help Investigators Find Her Body (October 6, 2017)
“As a part of his plea agreement, Rodriguez-Cruz said he will show authorities where he buried Butler's body.”
- Ex-boyfriend pleads guilty to murder of Pamela Butler who disappeared 8 years ago (October 6, 2017)
“pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and promised to show police where the EPA computer specialist is buried.”
- Police End Search for Pamela Butler's Remains Along I-95 (December 8, 2017)
“Police have decided to end the search for Pamela Butler's remains on a stretch of I-95 in Stafford County, Virginia.”
- Suspect in Pamela Butler's Death Investigated in Disappearance of Ex-Wife (April 2017)
“But she disappeared before she got to testify in court.”
- Brother of DC woman killed in 2009 learns probe in her death led to ID of woman's remains (June 2018)
“recent testing was done to identify Rodriguez due to new information from a separate investigation involving her husband”
- Killer of Federal Worker Pamela Butler Pleads Guilty in 1989 Death of His Wife (November 16, 2020)
“Her remains were found along Interstate 95 in Stafford County in 1991 but weren't positively identified until 2018.”
- 'I Was Able to Breathe': Virginia Cold Case Closed After 32 Years (April 2021)
“Rodriguez-Cruz told police he buried Butler a few miles from where his wife's remains were discovered.”
- Jose Rodriguez Cruz sentenced to 40 years in Virginia prison for cold-case murder (April 8, 2021)
“Jose Rodriguez Cruz was sentenced on Friday to 40 years in prison for the murder of his first wife, Marta Haydee Rodriguez.”