Place - Atlanta, Texas (approx 20 miles from Texarkana)Population - 6,400
Cass County
Police department - - 21 employees - - 16 police officers
Gerri Faye Butts, 29, and her daughters, Jessica, 11, and MacKenzie, 3.
Gerri worked for minimum wage at Stanco, a safety glove manufacturer. She lived in a trailer with her 2 daughters. They had different fathers, neither father was in the picture.
Gerri Faye had been arrested for selling marijuana in 1985. 21 people were caught in that "bust" - - only 2 didn't do time - - one was Gerri Faye.
Is it possible she made a deal to stay out of jail? Did she have any enemies from that time?
The Butts had received "scary" phone calls shortly before the murders. One said that they would all be dead in eight days. One of Jessica's friends at school was supposed to be in a skit the next week, but she hurt herself and on January 24th asked Jessica to take her place. Jessica said she better not agree to do that, she might be dead by then. This information came from a counselor at Jessica's school.
In the past, Gerri had dated Kevin Hailey age 24. They had had a sexual relationship.
Kevin knew her kids well and would take Jessica to basketball games. Jessica was in the 5th grade and it is reported that he took a special interest in her..
Background on Kevin Hailey Age 24....
Kevin had been in petty trouble before the Butts murder. He had been kicked out of the navy for drug abuse and assaulting a fellow sailor with a knife.
At the time of the murder, He was dealing with a failing marriage and did not have a car. He knew the Butts family rather well.
Kevin Hailey's father - Jerry Hailey - was a Deputy Sheriff in Atlanta, Texas. He also has an uncle (James) who is a Lieutenant with the Texas Rangers.
Time Frame of events ending Monday January 27th, 1992.
On Saturday or Sunday before - Gerri cleaned the trailer, changed the sheets on the bed and did laundry. She was a good housekeeper. A friend was with her and witnessed that she changed the sheets. (day is being checked)
Sunday Night 10:00pm and 10:30pm - - brother Terry called and spoke to Gerri -- she told him that the kids had been bathed and were in bed. She was going to take a bath and go to sleep herself.
Monday Morning 2:00am - - Kevin Hailey got home from a night out with his friends - reported use of alcohol, marijuana and cocaine in the group - - He told his grandmother he was going to bed. Kevin then went into his room and shut the door - turned on the TV. His grandmother didn't see him again that night. His bedroom door had a door to the outside.
Monday Morning - Gerri Faye Butts hadn't brought three-year-old MacKenzie to her babysitter. The sitter called Gerri's brother Terry, and they went to check on the family.
They found the family, all dead and Terry called the authorities.
Gerri was found on the couch, dressed in bikini panties and a t-shirt. Although testimony during the probable cause hearing indicated that Gerri Faye had apparently been smothered, the autopsy does not mention the specific method in which Gerri Faye was murdered, stating, "it is our opinion that Gerri Faye Butts, a 29-year-old woman, died as a result of strangulation. Manner of Death: Homicide."
Sonny Long, a journalist who followed the case from the very beginning is dedicated to seeing it solved, he
wrote, "someone's knee on her chest, their hands around her neck. Her face forced into a pillow?"
There was no forced entry. It was rumored that Jessica had recently lost her keys and one person interviewed said Kevin had told him that he had a key to the trailer.
TOD - - never pinned down - during the probable cause hearing, the defense asked Police Chief Mike Scott to go to the blackboard and write down the time of death - - he could not.
A hair on her blanket belonged to a man named Kevin Hailey, but it was easily explained away. He lived a block away, with his grandmother, and had been sexually involved with Gerri in the past. He had been in the trailer before on several occasions - - but he would later say he had not been in the house for 6-8 weeks before the murder.
11 year old Jessica was found on the bed. She was wearing a t-shirt, her panties had been removed and she had been sexually assaulted. Later it would come out that she was killed first - - the sexual assault came after her death - -she had been injured but had not bled. Apparently there was a tear in the vagina but the hymen itself was intact.
One source told me that three pubic hairs were found at that scene. Two on the sheets - and one was on her toe - - a bit of mud was on her toe (had the killer carried it in? Stepped on her toe, perhaps? Her feet were on the floor, her buttocks at the end of
the bed.) The pubic hairs were checked and it was reported that they belonged to Kevin Hailey. Again, could they have been there from weeks before? Another source said what was found on her toe was a HAIR MASS, like from the tub drain.
Enter the egg - - there was an egg casing on one of the hairs -- the egg of a crab. The egg was photographed and studied and the experts say it was in day 7 or 8 of a 10 day incubation period.
When Kevin Hailey was questioned 4 days after the murder - -he was suffering with a new outbreak of crabs.
There was no semen or DNA found on her body or the sheets.
Body number three was found in the bathtub. The theory is that three year old Mackenzie woke and fled to that room. She was dressed in a nightgown and panties - - she was drowned in the tub - in just a few inches of water. She apparently struggled and fought. There was a partial palm print on the side of the tub - - a right hand - - it belonged to Kevin Hailey. It was where a print
might be expected if someone was struggling to keep a child under the water. 9 points makes a match - - the print matched in 13
points.
Police said the handprint couldn't be dated, but Gerri's mother said, "Knowing Gerri Faye's habits, the bathroom, like the rest of the house, was cleaned daily. Also there was a plumber that worked on the bathtub the same week, yet only Kevin's print showed up on the tub. Why didn't the plumber's prints show up if he had been there after Kevin?"
4 days after murder, Kevin Hailey was brought in for questioning.
February 7th - Hailey gave consent to obtain samples of his head and pubic hair and his blood. The blood sample was taken to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas on Feb. 10.
March 19, 1992, affidavit for an arrest warrant was signed by CITY JUDGE JAMES WILLIS. Hailey was arrested. Chief Scott called in retired veteran homicide investigator Bill Parker to interview Kevin. Scott and Parker had worked together at Dallas PD.
Parker had a special talent for interviewing and interviewed some of the most horrific killers in the state of Texas. During that interview there was a loud commotion outside - Kevin's mother, Kathy Weaver, was beating on the doors of the Cass County Jail and yelling for Kevin. She was arrested for disorderly conduct but it threw the interview off and Parker was never able to connect
again with Kevin.
On March 20, 1992, Police Chief Mike Scott stated, We wanted to be extremely sure, and have all the information in from the lab. There was a DNA test, but I prefer not to get into that right now. I feel very confident about this case because of the evidence, and the investigation has been so extensive.
jameson note - ò¿ó - What is the rest of the evidence -- where is the fiber evidence, for example???
Hailey spent three months in jail -- then was released.
Inside sources say Police Chief Mike Scott - - really GOOD reputation - - experienced homicide investigator - believes that Kevin Hailey did it but was frustrated because he believed the prosecutors wouldn't seriously try for a conviction - so he asked the grand jury to come back with "no bill".
That way there would be a chance to arrest Kevin Hailey later when someone better qualified and more motivated was going to prosecute.
June - evidence hearing -
According to an eye-witness, Police Chief Scott was the last to testify -
June 10, 1992 the final day of the probable cause hearing, Cass County DA Neal Birmingham, questioned Scott,
Birmingham - Chief, is that all we have, the hairs and the palm print?
Yes, sir, Scott answered.
Birmingham - "Your honor, I guess I'm on the wrong side. This man (and he pointed at Scott) wants to put a man to death over a few hairs and partial palm print that could have been left there at any time he was sleeping with the woman."
Scott was shocked and turned and looked at the judge in dismay. The judge looked shocked and stated there's enough evidence to go to the grand jury.
June 1992 - Hailey was free on $10,000 bond after a probable cause hearing. His attorney was Doug Muldar of Dallas. (He was the Dallas Assistant DA who had prosecuted Randall Adams for murdering a police officer - - the case became the subject of a movie, "THE THIN BLUE LINE". Muldar then became a defense attorney and defended Rev. Walker Railey who was acquitted of the 1987 attack of his wife.)
FROM THE TEXARKANA GAZETTE, JUNE 11, 1992: After being released from jail, Kevin Hailey is quoted, "I was upset. I
was worried because at the time I was scared. I was really and truly scared. I didn't now what was going to happen or how this was going to turn out. I knew that this was not just stealing a hub cap. I knew that this was very serious.
I knew that whoever they did find and convict of the crime probably wouldn't be with us much longer. That scared me a lot because I knew in my heart I didn't have anything to do with the crime. And I knew that my family and close friends knew I didn't."
"I guess I can understand why they (friends and family of the Butts) feel they way they do. You have to understand that the only thing they have been told is I am responsible for the death of Gerri and her two children. And I guess if that's all they ever hear it gets to the point where it becomes easy to believe."
"My family has been hurt by this. They had to face the possibility that I could have been convicted of this crime and possibly been sentenced to death for something they knew I didn't do. If one good thing did come of this, I would have to say that it brought an already close family closer together. We are a very closeknit and tight family. I thank God for my family and their support."
July 3, 1992 -- Kevin Hailey was arrested on misdemeanor charge of unlawfully carrying a weapon. He told police he had received death threats and was carrying the handgun for protection.
July 19, 1992 - Jerry Hailey, Kevin's father, was fired by Cass County Sheriff Paul Boone. Boone said Jerry Hailey had interfered with the investigation by advising Kevin not to take a polygraph - Kevin did refuse to submit to the case.
OCTOBER 1992, the November issue of Gentleman's Quarterly was released (before the grand jury returned the No Bill) - An article called Kevin Hailey "Opie on steroids." - and painted a picture of incompetence, cover-up and corruption in the case.
Oct. 27, 1992 a Cass County Grand Jury returned a No Bill on capital murder charges against Kevin Hailey and all charges were dropped.
DA Birmingham said at the time of the investigation that there was never enough evidence to convict Hailey and that the hair and palm print were not incriminating since Hailey was a frequent visitor in the Butts' home.
Kevin Hailey's mother, Kathy Weaver spoke after the GJ didn't indict - There have been at least -- at least -- three investigations into these murders and a judge and a Grand Jury have both said there is not enough evidence against Kevin.
This is the judicial system that rules over our country. We have to live with its decisions. They are the same laws that protect everyone. The Butts have suffered a great tragedy, but what about Kevin's life? He has to put his life back together. He deserves an opportunity to do
that. This is his home, he's not going anywhere. He deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Weaver also said she realizes a mother would come to the defense of her son, and she has no qualms about that.
I've taken care of him and protected him all his life, just like any mother would. Our lawyer advised us not to talk during the hearing, but now I'm not going to take it anymore. The Hailey family has taken a lot. There have been three investigations -- this chapter is closed.
Date? People asked for tips - - $5,000 reward offered by the District Attorney. No calls on public records.
December, 1992 - Members of the Butts family joined members of Kevin Hailey's family on the Maury Povich program.
Timeline 1993 to present |
