Murder victim's brother seeks justice for first wife of man who killed sister
STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - The man convicted in the 2009 disappearance of Pamela Butler is also a suspect in the murder of his first wife. Eight months after the Virginia State Police said charges were pending, none have been filed -- a fact that's frustrated Pam Butler's brother who decided to confront the prosecutor in the case Wednesday.
Just after 10 a.m., Derrick Butler showed up unannounced at the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney in Stafford County.
"I'm going to go in and see where I… where I can get to," said Butler.
Until now, he has been patiently waiting for that his sister's admitted killer, Jose Rodriguez Cruz, was also facing charges in the murder of his first wife.
"We started talking back in December, and here we are today and he is still telling me we are still investigating," said Butler.
Butler lost his sister in 2009 when Rodriguez Cruz admitted to killing her in the basement of her Northwest D.C. home and disposing of her body.
It took eight years for that investigation to unfold, and Butler says he is determined to see justice in the murder of Rodriguez Cruz's first wife as well.
"I want to make sure he doesn't get out of jail," said Butler. "If he does, we all are in jeopardy".
The body of Rodriguez Cruz's first wife, Marta Haydee Rodriguez, was found back in February 1991 in a turnaround off I-95 in Stafford County -- she wasn't positively identified until recently -- her husband, Rodriguez Cruz, is now a prime suspect in her murder. He admitted to dumping Pam Butler's body in a similar turnaround just north of where Haydee Rodriguez's body was dumped.
As Butler left Wednesday's meeting, the prosecutor in the case said he could not comment on why it is taking so long to file charges.
"This is an ongoing investigation that we have been asked to review from the state police that's what we are doing," said the prosecutor.
"Well, I feel like I got something accomplished. They understand that I am not going anywhere and they are investigating the case, but they have some challenges that they will not discuss with me," said Butler.
Butler says he is pursuing the case in part to help Marta Haydee Rodriguez's son who agreed to an interview over the phone as long as we did not reveal his name. He says, growing up, he feared his father would kill him.
"When I was with him, I grew up knowing about how violent and explosive he could be, and when I was around him, I always feared that I would be next, that I had to be very careful about what I said and how I said it," said Marta Haydee Rodriguez's son.
Marta's son, who was a toddler when she disappeared, now believes his father killed his mother.