Butts crime revisited 30 YEARS LATER

Editor’s Note: I received a call from an individual on my way from a road trip asking if I was going to write a story on the Butts murders. The person on the other line said that he had grown up with Kevin Hailey and thought it was important that I do a story because it was the 30-year anniversary of the murders. I remembered when I first started work at the Journal there was a brief mention of the crime and a copy of the family portrait in our special vault. However, once I started doing research, I found out how much it impacted our community, and the overwhelming national attention it received.

For the last two months, I have emersed myself in learning as much about the tragedy, and over the last couple of weeks I have read Sonny Long’s book on the murders. From the point I started to read his book I reached out to him, and he has been gracious enough to answer any questions I have had along the way, including giving an interview for the newspaper. One of the many ironies I have encountered while reading his book is that three of our current workers at the Journal were briefly mentioned in the pages. This interview with Long will probably be just one of a few different pieces in the next month.

On January 27, 1992, 30 years ago, Gerri Faye Butts, 29, and her daughters Jessica Butts, 11, and Mackenzie Sullivan Butts, 2, were brutally murdered in their mobile home. Soon after, Kevin Hailey was arrested and in June a probable cause hearing was held, in which a grand jury declined to indict him because there was not enough evidence to prosecute him at the time. The case against him mainly rested on his palm print on the bathtub near where Mackenzie drowned and a pubic hair with crab eggs similar to the ones Hailey submitted was found near Jessica. Hailey had dated Gerri Faye so the argument against conviction was that he was in the trailer before the crime.

After several frustrating years of waiting, a number of suspects cleared, law enforcement coming and going, three DAs later, District Attorney Clint Allen brought a new case against Hailey, and an indictment in August of 2007. In October 2009, Hailey pled guilty to only killing the mother, Gerri Faye, 41, as part of the plea bargain. He was already serving an 87-year sentence for attempted murder in Louisiana and would stay there through the remainder of the first crime. The punishment for the murder would be a life sentence without parole.

The case received national attention: appearing on an episode of “A Current Affair”; a news article published in Gentlemen’s Quarterly, and members of the Hailey and Butts families appeared on an episode of the Maury Povich show.

Besides the horrific nature of the crime, a few things fueled the controversy. Hailey’s dad was a deputy sheriff at the time of the arrest and a well-known attorney out of Dallas representing him for the original probable cause hearing. Hailey’s mother, Kathy Weaver was later convicted of murdering one of her husbands. There were also several loose ends even after the confession.

In a recent interview Sonny Long, the author of the book on the Butts Murder, Among Murders and Madness answered some questions for the Journal-Sun. Long was a former journalist for the Atlanta Citizens Journal and later created his own newsletter-newspaper called the Pine Country Bulletin that covered the Butts murders extensively. He also became an advocate for keeping the case alive as a promise to the family of the crime. Long no longer lives in Atlanta. He left the newspaper business in 2014 and has been freelancing, co-authoring, and editing book projects. See under 2014-present below. He also works full-time as a content analyst for a large social media company in Austin, Texas.

JOURNAL-SUN: June will be 30 years since Kevin Hailey’s probable cause hearing, and January, the murders of the Butts family. After all those years, what has stuck out to you the most?

LONG: It’s personal to me. So often as a reporter, you cover a story, then just move on to the next one. Not the Butts murders. Part of the reason is because my dad died later that same week. Part of it is the loss of children in our town, so brutally killed. Then when I saw the crime scene video, especially of Mackenzie floating face down in the bathtub. I can still see that in my mind today.

JOURNAL-SUN: If you had to pick out five unusual things about the case through the last 30 years what would you say they were?

LONG: 1. I found it unusual that three people were killed in three different ways. What does this mean? 2. Also, the fact that there were people (and still are) adamant that Kevin didn’t do it although the evidence says otherwise. 3. Kathy Weaver — perhaps the personification of evil. Not technically related to this case other than being Kevin’s mother, as far as we know, but questions will always linger about her potential role. That and the fact that she married a man, Mike Scott, with the same name as the man who arrested Kevin — then murdered him. 4. Bret Lawless, another in the strange cast of characters. He was Gerri’s mom’s boyfriend at the time. The fact that later, while in jail for another crime, he shaved off all his hair, started calling himself Beverly, and confessed (falsely) to the Butts murders. 5. The possibility that Kim Cornelius (now deceased) may have known more than she said. While on the phone that night Jessica said something to someone in the trailer named “Kimmie”. (Double-check me on that. Don’t have the book in front of me).

JOURNAL-SUN: In your opinion, what about the crime struck a chord in our community and gained national interest?

LONG: It seems like it was so much different back then than today when we have become so desensitized to murder, but the murder of an entire family especially an 11-year-old and a 2-year-old, we’re captivating both locally and nationally. Combine that with the fact that Kevin is the son of a deputy sheriff (at the time). Locally, annual vigils and candlelight walks were held.

JOURNAL-SUN: Do people still reach out to you today about the Butts murders? If so, what is the sentiment?

LONG: Yes. Not so much with the locals, with any kind of debate anymore, but people who are now from the area who didn’t live there in 1992 wanting to know about the case. Interestingly, I probably get contacted more by people wanting me to look into unsolved or “wrongful arrest” murder cases.

JOURNAL-SUN: You were asked by Gerri’s mom never to let people forget about the family. What has that meant to you over the years practically, and even 30 years later?

LONG: Meeting the family and spending time with them made me feel their hurt. Now, as a grandfather myself, I can only imagine having your heart ripped out by the murders of your loved ones. Not to discount Gerri Faye, but especially Jessica and mostly baby Mackenzie. How could I help but keep the case alive, especially during that time when no one was being held accountable. I personally organized a remembrance event at the city auditorium with guest speakers, music, etc.

JOURNAL-SUN: Kevin Hailey eventually admitted to the crime. Did that bring some relief/closure to the family and friends?

LONG: Of course. He only pleaded guilty to the murder of Gerri Faye, but after talking with Butts family members, they agreed to the plea deal because wanted to hear Kevin say, “guilty.”

JOURNAL-SUN: Is there still a belief out there that maybe there is someone else out there still that someone else committed the murders/helped?

LONG: I think there are still many unanswered questions. I mentioned earlier the three different manners of death - does one person do that? And in the living room where Gerri was found, there are no signs of a struggle. You know she fought for her life. Not one thing out of place? Did someone help straighten up? Kathy Weaver perhaps?

JOURNAL-SUN: You seemed to have a sense early on that Kevin committed the crime. What were some of the things that stuck out to you early on and several years later, were there things that confirmed your suspicions?

LONG: 1. His proximity to the crime scene. He lived with his grandmother on the same road, a couple of blocks away. 2. He had been partying all day (Super Bowl party) and cocaine and alcohol can certainly affect your behavior. 3. His history of violence (in the military, as a bouncer, etc.) 4. Then later, being found guilty of the stabbing in Louisiana (though, again, others swear he didn’t do it). Not sure how this fits in with your question, but I will never forget a phone conversation with Kathy Weaver after Kevin was arrested for the stabbing. She said, “They had to get him out of Texas.” ……..interesting comment. Was he “protected” in Texas?

JOURNAL-SUN: Additional thoughts?

LONG: Mark West (now deceased) of the Atlanta Police Department was instrumental in breathing life back into the case. He got the blessing of his chief, had DNA retested, and had some tested that weren’t tested in 1992. That was the final piece of the evidentiary puzzle needed.

JOURNAL-SUN: Tell me about the book you wrote “Among Murderers and Madness”, and where people can pick it up?

LONG: Honestly, as long as Kev in and his mom were “on the street,” I was afraid to write the book. Over the years, I kept a box of newspaper clippings, the probable cause hearing transcript, crime scene photos, notes of interviews, and even scraps of paper where I had written notes from brief conversations with various people. When both Kevin (for a different crime) and Kathy were in jail, I finally felt safe enough to tell the story. I worked full-time and spent my off hours working on the book. Probably took about a year. The book is available on Amazon both in paperback and for the Kindle. This is the link https://www.amazon.com/ Among-Murderers-Madness-Journalists-Journey/dp/1468035835

Long posted this on the anniversary of the deaths: Murder is the most unforgiving story a reporter can write. I say “unforgiving” instead of “unforgettable” because a lot of stories are unforgettable.

Unless on the crime beat, no one seeks out writing about murder and a reporter could go an entire career without ever dealing with that particular carnage.

The same held true for me until a wet January morning exactly 30 years ago, Jan. 27, 1992. I wasn’t prepared for what unfolded that day.

The bodies of three people - Gerri Faye Butts, 29, and her two daughters, Jessica, 11, and Mackenzie, 2 - were found in their mobile home.

All dead. All murdered.

As I approached the crime scene that day, excitement was the driving force as the adrenaline of the moment overtook any other emotions that might have come to the surface at that time.

Those would come later.

I couldn’t get within yards of the simple trailer, tan with brown trim. Two or three pine trees dotted the small lot. A girl’s bicycle leaned against the side of the humble dwelling. Another smaller bike with training wheels stood nearby.

Three days later, my dad died, and somehow these deaths have become forever intertwined for me. The emotion I attach to losing my father, I also attach to the Butts murders. I couldn’t just let this story go. It was the worst week of my life and the worst of theirs.

And their last.

I promised Gerri Faye’s mother that I would never let the public forget what happened to her daughter and her granddaughters.

I hope she believes I’ve kept that promise.