What Happened to Pamela Butler? Inside the 2009 Murder Case That Linked Her Boyfriend to Another Woman’s Death

Pamela Butler vanished from her Washington, D.C. location and years later, Jose Rodriguez-Cruz, whom Pamela was making love astatine nan time, would confess to murdering her.

Pamela's disappearance was nan attraction of nan 2022 Dateline episode, "A Haunting Stretch of Road," which NBC re-aired connected Aug. 2 astatine 9 p.m. ET.

On Feb. 12, 2009, Pamela, a national worker, came location from work, walked into her location and was ne'er heard from again. The investigation would yet extremity up being linked to different female who had besides gone missing 2 decades earlier.

"There was a very large void erstwhile Pam went missing," Pamela's friend, Rita Moss, told Dateline.

So what happened to Pamela Butler? Here's everything to cognize astir nan 2009 execution and really it was connected to Marta Rodriguez-Cruz's 1989 decease done Jose Rodriguez-Cruz.

Who was Pamela Butler?

Pamela was a 47-year-old national worker of nan United States Environmental Protection Agency successful Washington, D.C., wherever she worked arsenic a machine analyst.

On Valentine's Day successful 2009, Pamela had plans to prime up her mother, Thelma, for dinner, but she ne'er showed. Jose was besides expected to subordinate them, and erstwhile Thelma's calls went unanswered, Pamela's brother, Derrick, reassured her that they must person mislaid way of time.

After not proceeding from Pamela for days, her mom and nephew visited Pamela's house. Upon their arrival, they recovered message piled up connected nan beforehand structure and a suspicious segment inside, pinch papers and items thrown astir — and Pamela obscurity to beryllium found. At that point, Thelma realized her girl had besides missed work.

Pamela's location was equipped pinch information cameras and mobility discovery lights, truthful if she had near her house, really would it not person been captured connected video? This was conscionable 1 of nan galore questions that stumped nan constabulary and Pamela's family.

An investigation was opened, but successful 2016, aft years of dormant ends, Pamela was declared legally dead.

In nan Dateline episode, Pamela's relative said his sister was "Just a beautiful person, personification that would spell retired of her measurement to thief you."

Who is Jose Rodriguez-Cruz?

Jose Rodriguez-Cruz was Pamela's fellow astatine nan clip of her disappearance.

According to Dateline, they had met connected a making love website and had been together for 5 months erstwhile she went missing. Pamela and Jose shared akin authorities activity backgrounds; he is simply a erstwhile subject constabulary serviceman who worked astatine a aesculapian clinic.

When Pamela's mother searched her home, Thelma noticed Jose had near messages connected her answering instrumentality asking wherever she was. Thelma besides discovered that Jose wrote a connection to Pamela and near it wrong her home.

Thelma later asked Derrick to interaction Jose, and aft doing so, Jose shared that he and Pamela had surgery up and hadn't heard from her, Derrick recalled to Dateline. They past met successful person, and Jose appeared upset complete nan news of Pamela's disappearance. But what her family didn't cognize was that Jose had a troubled past.

Jose was antecedently joined to Marta Rodriguez-Cruz, a nursing assistance successful her precocious 20s who went missing successful May 1989 successful Arlington, Va. Before she vanished, Marta had told constabulary that Jose had physically and sexually assaulted her. That March, an Arlington County constabulary serviceman witnessed Jose dragging her connected a street, per The Washington Post.

Jose was charged pinch abducting and assaulting her. As for a motive, he hinted toward jealousy.

“When asked by nan interrogator why he would perpetrate specified acts against his wife, Rodriguez-Cruz responded that ‘if I can’t person her, nary 1 other will. She’s mine,’ ” he said, according to a connection obtained by The Washington Post.

By nan clip she was owed to attest against Jose successful court, nan mother-of-one ne'er showed up, and nan lawsuit was thrown out. Marta's roommate reported her missing 1 week later, Fox 5 DC reported.

How did Pamela Butler die?

Jose killed Pamela successful her location connected nan nighttime of Feb. 13, 2009.

Per a press release from nan U.S. Attorney's Office, she and Jose had an statement successful nan basement of Pamela's home. During their discussion, Pamela pointed retired Jose's occupation and financial position and mentioned that location were nary signs he was trying to amended either.

At 1 constituent during nan fight, Jose punched Pamela successful nan face. She fell to nan floor, and Jose past strangled her to death. He past put Pamela's assemblage successful a trash container and switched disconnected nan house's mobility detector lights.

Jose removed her assemblage done a first-floor model that was not covered by nan information cameras. After placing her successful his car, he decided connected a location to hide her. Over nan adjacent 2 days, he returned to Pamela's location to region items, including her phone, which he disposed of.

Were Pamela Butler's remains ever found?

No, Pamela's remains person ne'er been recovered.

As portion of nan plea statement he took, Jose told investigators wherever they could find Pamela's body. According to NBC Washington, Jose said he buried her successful nan median betwixt nan southbound and northbound lanes connected I-95 successful Stafford County, Va.

Due to nan building connected nan road complete nan years, including nan description of definitive lanes, nan area pinch Pamela's assemblage had been paved over, making her remains "not recoverable," per WUSA9.

How are Pamela Butler and Marta Rodriguez's disappearances related?

After Pamela was declared legally dormant successful 2016, her disappearance was reopened arsenic a acold lawsuit by Metropolitan Police Department detective Mike Fulton. He would yet uncover Jose's past pinch Marta, yet linking it to Pamela's.

Marta had gone missing successful Virginia successful 1989, and while her remains were recovered 2 years later, her personality wouldn't beryllium confirmed until 2018 utilizing DNA.

Both women were discovered successful nan aforesaid area of nan road wherever Jose said he had buried Pamela's body.

Where is Jose Rodriguez-Cruz now?

In October 2017, Jose pleaded blameworthy to a second-degree execution complaint for Pamela's death. He was sentenced to 12 years successful a national prison, followed by 5 years of probation, according to nan U.S. Attorney's Office's property release.

Three years later, successful November 2020, Jose pleaded blameworthy to first-degree execution for sidesplitting Marta successful 1989. He was sentenced to an further 40 years successful prison.

“I want to spot him service life for nan crimes that he committed,” Pamela's brother, Derrick, told reporters astatine Jose's hearing, via WTOP.

Derrick added that moreover if Jose gets retired of situation astatine 80, "he's still a convulsive criminal, and it’s not going to change.”