It was another late night for David Butler, assistant managing editor at Stars and Stripes. He helped crank out another edition of the military newspaper, hopped on the Metro and headed toward home in Arlington.
Butler never made it. Instead, he was savagely beaten to death over a few dollars, police say.
That happened nearly 10 years ago, on July 15, 2000, and Arlington County Police are still trying to determine exactly what happened that night. They are hoping someone will come forward with information that can help solve the brutal slaying of the 42-year-old man.
At about 1:55 a.m. that day, officers responded to the 1800 block of Wilson Boulevard in the Rosslyn area of Arlington for a report of loud voices. When police arrived, they discovered Butler’s body in the parking lot of a car dealership, EEE Auto Sales. He was just two blocks from his apartment in Colonial Village.
Police believe he left his work, took the Metro home, exited at Court House station at about 1:30 a.m., and walked a few blocks toward his home when he was attacked. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.
Detectives believe Butler was the victim of a street robbery that went bad. Butler’s wallet was missing but was found months later a few blocks from the crime scene by a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars who was picking up trash along Lee Highway. The wallet still contained Butler’s credit cards and identification.
It’s possible his killers followed him from the Metro station, police said. Butler most likely passed by a convenience store where customers would have been coming and going at that hour.
Numerous detectives and patrol officers canvassed the Rosslyn-Courthouse corridor in the weeks after the murder in an attempt to gain more information, but no substantial leads were developed.
Police have not given up hope.
Detectives ask that anyone with information about this crime call the Arlington County Police Tip Line at 703-228-4242 or Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS if they wish to remain anonymous. Callers do not need to testify in court.
Crime Solvers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
