Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
1,945
pages
in: Washington D.C., 2009, Disappearances,
and 2 more

Pamela Butler

Edit
Pamela Butler with her brother, Derick

Pamela Butler with her brother, Derick

Real Name: Pamela J. Butler
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Location: Washington, D.C.
Date: February 12, 2009

Bio[]

Occupation: Computer Systems Analyst
Date of Birth: Unrevealed
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 120 pounds
Marital Status: Dating
Characteristics: African-American female with Brown hair and brown eyes. Her ears and navel are pierced. Pamela has a black tattoo on her left shoulder.

Case[]

Details: On February 12, 2009, forty-seven-year-old Pamela Butler called her mother and told her that she and her boyfriend Jose Rodriguez-Cruz would be taking her to dinner on Valentine's Day. However, she and Jose never showed up on February 14. Her mother was very concerned because the two were in close contact until February 13. On February 14, Pamela's mother and brother went to her home and found that the alarm system was not set. This was unusual because she was very concerned about her security. Her home was in somewhat of a disarray, which was also strange because she was known to be very neat. In her home office, folders were scattered about the floor; in her bedroom, her sheets were missing, and her comforter was on a nearby chair. Also, although her purse and cars were at the home, the keys for those cars were missing. Interestingly, the one window in her home that was not covered by her security system was unlocked.
The last time Pamela was seen on her security camera was on February 12, when she got her mail and let Jose inside her home. The next day, a coworker and a cousin of Pamela's talked to her on the phone, although she was not seen on her cameras. When questioned, Jose said that he and Pamela had ended their relationship on February 13. He was seen on the surveillance cameras entering and exiting her home three different times. He told police that he was taking his stuff from her home at the time. Pamela's family and the police suspect foul play in her case, which remains unsolved.

Jose Rodriguez-Cruz

Jose Rodriguez-Cruz

Suspects: Jose Rodriguez-Cruz, Pamela's boyfriend, is considered a suspect in the case. He was initially cooperative with investigators; however, after police asked him to take a polygraph, he refused and has since become uncooperative. Friends and relatives of Pamela told police that their relationship was relatively amicable, although they did have some arguments. Jose has not been charged in Pamela's case.
Extra Notes:

  •  This case was uploaded to the Unsolved Mysteries website on November 20, 2015. The person interviewed in the video is Pamela's brother, Derick Butler.
  • The case was profiled on The Trail Went Cold during the investigation and documented on Dateline after it was resolved.

Results: Solved. In August of 2016, a D.C. Superior Court judge declared Pamela legally dead. On April 7, 2017, D.C. police arrested Jose and charged him with her murder. In October of 2017, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to twelve years in prison. He admitted that he beat her and strangled her to death after an argument about his unemployment. As a condition of the plea agreement, he had to lead investigators to Pamela's remains. However, it was later determined that her remains were not recoverable.
Investigators discovered that Jose had another significant other that went missing. His ex-wife Marta Haydee Rodriguez vanished without a trace in 1989. Her remains were found along I-95 in Stafford County in 1991. This area was just a few miles from where Pamela was apparently buried. Marta's remains were not identified until 2018. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to her murder. He faces up to forty years in prison.
Links:

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.