PONTOON BEACH – Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine and Pontoon Beach Police Chief Chris Modrusic announced Thursday the filing of a charge of first – degree murder in the connection with the death of a woman who disappeared in 2013.
Roger D. Sutton., formerly of Pontoon Beach, has been charged with first -degree murder for allegedly strangling and fatally beating Patrenia Butler-Turner, who was 40 and a resident of East St. Louis when she went missing. Sutton also was charged with one count of concealment of a homicidal death.
In addition, a nephew of Sutton, 32-year-old Nathan J. Beyer of Alton, had been charged with one count of concealing a homicide, for allegedly providing assistance on concealment of the body in a wooded area.
On December 5, 2022, detectives with the Pontoon Beach Police Department, Madison County Sheriff’s Department and the Madison County Coroner’s Office responded to a report of skeletal remains in a wooded area off of 111 in Pontoon Beach.
Investigators, including a forensic anthropologist, determined the skeletal remains to be those of Butler- Turner, who was reported missing by family on Jan.17, 2013.
On Wednesday, investigators received the results of the DNA tests that linked the remains to family members of Butler- Turner. Sutton is currently 10 months into a two-year sentence for possession of meth, however, he was scheduled to be released on parole on February 14.
Once Sutton is paroled, he will be sent to the Madison County Jail and held on a $3 million bond. Beyer will be held on a $500,000 bond.
