Madison County prosecutors had no coroner’s ruling on Patrenia Butler-Turner’s cause or manner of death and no DNA evidence linking Roger D. Sutton Jr. to her disappearance in 2013.
But jurors in his trial this week apparently believed his nephew, Nathan J. Beyer, who testified that Sutton beat and strangled the 40-year-old woman and that Beyer helped him dump her body, which remained in a wooded area off Illinois 111 in Pontoon Beach for nearly 10 years.
On Thursday, it took a jury about three hours to find Sutton guilty of first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death.
After the verdict was delivered, State’s Attorney Tom Haine appeared outside the Madison County Criminal Justice Center in Edwardsville with a half-dozen members of Butler-Turner’s family.
“I don’t know if I want to be happy or sad, but of course I’m happy that he was found guilty,” said her daughter, Candace Burnett, 32, of East St. Louis, who was holding a box of tissues and dabbing tears from her eyes. “I hope he’s going to jail for the rest of his life.”
Haine told reporters that “cold cases are really hard to prosecute” and praised Lauren Maricle and Mike Stewart, the two assistant state’s attorneys who tried the Sutton case.
Butler-Turner’s son, Darrell Burnett, 34, formerly of East St. Louis, flew from his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, to attend the trial, which began Monday.
“I had to be here for my mama,” he said. “I couldn’t miss this. It’s been eating me up all this time. ... The prosecutors did a great, great job. And I’m thankful that Nathan came forward and told the police what happened. He didn’t have to do that. He put himself on the line.”
The Burnetts, their sister, Carmillya Butler, 31, of East St. Louis, and other family members said they had “mixed feelings” about Beyer’s role in the crime and his 10 years of silence, but they believed he kept information from authorities because he “feared for his life.”
Sutton was serving time for a drug conviction at Centralia Correctional Center on Feb. 2, 2023, when Haine’s office filed the murder charges. That kept him from being paroled 12 days later.
Sutton was transferred to the Madison County jail, held on a $3 million bond and later indicted by a grand jury. Haine’s office also charged Beyer, now 34, of Alton, with concealment of a homicidal death.
According to court records, Beyer reported to the Pontoon Beach Police Department in early December 2023, told his version of what happened to Butler-Turner and led police to her skeletal remains in the woods.
Beyer’s concealment case is still pending. On Thursday, Haine declined to comment on whether the testimony he provided against his uncle would be considered as part of a plea agreement.
Sutton had maintained his innocence leading up to the trial. In a handwritten, three-page letter to Madison County Judge Tim Berkley in May, he blamed Butler-Turner’s death on a drug overdose.
“I didn’t murder anyone,” wrote Sutton, now 57, who formerly lived in Alton and Pontoon Beach. “No cause of death, no physical evidence, no DNA, only an accusation from a admitted herion (sic) addict 10 years after.”
Sutton was represented by the office of Public Defender Mary Copeland. He declined comment when contacted by a BND reporter earlier this month at the Madison County jail.
Butler-Turner was living in Orlando, Florida, and working as a housekeeper in 2013, when she returned to her hometown of East St. Louis to help with her first grandchild, Candace Burnett told the BND on the day Sutton and Beyer were charged.
Candace Burnett said Butler-Turner left early on Jan. 17, 2013, to go to the store and get milk, but she never returned. She missed a high-school graduation and her flight back to Florida.
Butler-Turner’s family reported her disappearance to police, distributed flyers and searched the area.
Candace Burnett described her mother as “a good person, happy, sweet and smart” and someone who would “give anybody anything.” Butler-Turner’s last words were, “Mama loves you,” Haine said Thursday.
Pontoon Beach Police Chief Chris Modrusic told reporters at a news conference on Feb. 2, 2023, that police responded to a report in early December 2022 of skeletal remains in a wooded area along Illinois 111. They later identified the victim as Butler-Turner.
The Madison County coroner’s office examined Butler-Turner’s remains. Officials couldn’t determine the cause or manner of death, according to an office representative.
Sutton served time in Centralia Correctional Center after being convicted in 2022 of possessing less than five grams of methamphetamine. He originally was scheduled for release on Feb. 14, 2023.
Sutton was convicted in 1994 for burglary in Madison, 1999 for unlawful restraint in Granite City, 2000 for cannabis possession in South Roxana, 2007 for burglary in Pontoon Beach and 2015 for battery in Pontoon Beach. He also served time in a Tennessee prison for aggravated burglary, theft and robbery.
First-degree murder in Illinois is punishable by up to 60 years in prison. The penalty for concealment of a homicidal death is up to 7 years.
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Teri Maddox is a reporter for the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
