The funeral for a Utah couple murdered earlier this month was live-streamed online after a small family gathering, due to state restrictions in place amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Fox News reports that Tony and Katherine Butterfield were remembered as kind, hard-working people who were devoted to their three surviving children, during the small outdoor memorial session at the Herriman City Cemetery. The rest of the funeral, following the small gathering, was streamed online.
“Tony and Katherine were beacons of light and goodness,” Katherine’s brother Cameron Crane said following the funeral, according to Fox 13. “Our families believe in the laws of mercy and justice, and we are confident that the laws of justice will prevail. But we will focus on the loss of mercy.”
The Desert News reports that Tony Butterfield had been called “T-money” because of his hard work, according to Katherine’s sister, Emily Hurst.
“Tony worked hard for his family and had already taught his children the value of working. He never spoiled the kids and never had to. They knew how much their daddy loved them, because he was always there for a hug and a kiss, or to be goofy with them.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Tony and Katherine Butterfield were found deceased at a home close to 3200 West and 6900 South in West Jordan earlier this month, after a caller reported hearing gunshots in the area. According to the West Jordan Police Department, suspect Albert Johnson allegedly rummaged through the couple’s belongings before fleeing.
The couple’s three young children were left at the home. They were physically unharmed, but it isn’t clear if they witnessed the killings.
The U.S. Marshals Service assisted in capturing Johnson, 31, in Sacramento, California, days after the murders. He’s accused of killing the couple before fleeing the state.
Johnson’s wife, who was questioned by authorities prior to her husband’s capture, reportedly refused to cooperate. However, an arrest affidavit sheds new details about the incident.
Sina Johnson allegedly told authorities that her husband wanted to work for the Butterfield family at their landscaping business, although previous reports indicated that unnamed sources said he was already an employee.
Sina Johnson, however, claimed that her husband was only “familiar” with the family because at one point, he “had attempted to obtain a job with their company,” the Desert News reports.
Johnson added that her husband came home in bloody clothing between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., claimed his life was over and that he had been stabbed. When she discovered he was involved in the Butterfields’ deaths, Sina Johnson took her husband’s bloody clothing and washed them, according to authorities.
KSL reports that Sina Johnson “made statements that she plans to buy a plane ticket to Arizona and would not specify where in Arizona she would go.”
Sina Johnson was subsequently arrested and charged with felony obstruction of justice. She remains behind bars on a $100,000 bond.
Albert Johnson, who resisted arrest when authorities found him California, is in the process of extradition back to Utah, following a Friday court hearing in Stockton.
“We pray that family of the perpetrator will feel that same mercy in their lives,” Cameron Crane added.
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[Feature Photo: Butterfield Family/GoFundMe]
