YOUNGSTOWN Murder charge will be sought

The woman, whose bond was set at $50,000, has been in jail since April 23.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The May death of 89-year-old Michael A. Butch, whose throat was slashed in February, has been ruled a homicide.
Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains said Thursday that once he receives the necessary paperwork from the coroner, he will seek a murder charge against Michelle T. Burton in a superseding indictment. Burton, 30, now faces charges of attempted murder and felonious assault.
The Ellenwood Avenue woman has been in jail since April 23, the day Detective Sgts. Daryl Martin and Jerry Shuster arrested her. The case was directly presented to a county grand jury, which indicted her last month.
Burton's bond was set at $50,000, and her trial is set for July 10 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court with Judge Jack Durkin presiding.
Butch was stabbed about 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17 in his throat and abdomen at his East Midlothian Boulevard apartment. He was found sitting on the floor, propped near the front door, with blood on his face and abdomen.
His pants pockets had been pulled out, as if someone had gone through them. A neighbor who had seen him crawling to the door called police.
Butch's keys, dentures and eyeglasses were found lying on a bloody spot on the carpet in the living room. A trail of blood led to Butch.
Butch wasn't able to speak but nodded his responses to police questions. Officers determined that the suspect, Burton, had been to Butch's apartment several times and that she stabbed and robbed him.
Frequent visitors
Neighbors told police that women crack addicts frequently showed up at Butch's apartment asking for money.
Burton was one of several women Butch met at a local restaurant, Lt. Robin Less, public information officer, has said. The women often visited the elderly man to help with his care.
Burton was found guilty May 2 in municipal court in an unrelated case of passing bad checks. Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. sentenced her to 180 days in jail, suspended 150 days and gave her credit for 18 days she has been in jail, records show. The judge also suspended a $1,000 fine.
A spokesman for Mahoning County Coroner David M. Kennedy said the Butch homicide ruling was issued Monday. Butch died May 2.
The ruling brings the city's homicide total to 17 for the year. At this time last year, the city had recorded 16 homicides.
Still pending is a coroner's ruling in the death of Sean M. Finch, 28, of Petersburg, who died in the county jail May 8. Finch was found dead in his cell about two hours after he had been brought to the jail.
He had been arrested after a police chase in Beaver and Canfield townships. Police said he fired four shots at the Mellinger's Nursery building on state Route 165.
meade@vindy.com