Watch Now “Press Conference After Jury Finds Roger Sutton Guilty Of First Degree Murder”
EDWARDSVILLE — The jury deliberated about three hours Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, before finding Roger Dale Sutton, 57, guilty of first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death. The jury found that he fatally beat and strangled Patrenia “Trina” Butler-Turner, who was 40 and had been a resident of East St. Louis.
Butler-Turner was reported missing by her family in January 2013, after she failed to return from a trip to the store.
The murder came to light in December 2022, when Sutton’s nephew Nathan Beyer walked into the Pontoon Beach Police Department and made a report: He had witnessed his uncle kill a woman nearly 10 years earlier and helped dispose of the body.
The Beyer led investigators to a wooded location in Pontoon Beach, behind Sutton’s former apartment. There, amid dense brush and debris, investigators discovered a skull and other skeletal remains.
The Beyer testified at trial about how he began feeling guilt after seeing television commercials featuring family gatherings during the holidays. He said he drove to the Police Department, parked nearby, prayed for 20 minutes, then went inside. He told police he saw Sutton punch the woman for no apparent reason, then choke her as she cried for help.
“I replay that moment over and over again, and I hate myself for freezing,” the nephew testified. Haine said it’s always preferable that police be notified immediately when a crime has been committed.
“But as this case shows, it’s never too late to do the right thing. It’s never too late to help bring justice and closure to a grieving family,” Haine said. “With this verdict, I pray that the family and loved ones of Trina can finally begin to heal.”
Haine commended Pontoon Beach Police and other agencies that assisted in the investigation, including the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Madison County Coroner’s Office, and Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services.
“Their tireless and meticulous investigation pieced together what happened nearly 10 years earlier, and allowed our prosecution team to paint a clear picture for the jury,” Haine said. “People who choose to hurt and kill people in our community should look over their shoulders because there is no statute of limitations on finding, arresting, and prosecuting them.”
After the trial ended Butler-Turner’s two daughters and son spoke. They said that they are appreciative of the police officers and state attorneys’ office for not giving up and getting their family justice. They went on to say they have mixed emotions about Nathan Beyer but they are glad he came forward and told police where the body was so they could have peace.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Maricle, who is Chief of the Violent Crimes Unit at the State’s Attorney’s Office, and Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Stewart.
Maricle, in her closing argument, said: “For 10 long years, Patrenia’s children waited for their mother to come home. For 10 long years, Patrenia’s mother, Ms. Butler, wondered what happened to her daughter. For 10 long years, her loved ones had no answers about what happened to her.”
That all changed, Maricle argued, when Beyer “decided he could no longer keep the defendant’s despicable secret.”
The jury rejected a defense argument that the defendant panicked and hid the victim’s body after she died of an overdose at his apartment.
Maricle argued that Sutton hid the victim’s body in an attempt to conceal the manner of her death. “He strangled her in cold blood,” Maricle argued. “He discarded her like a piece of trash.”
Circuit Judge Tim Berkley presided at the trial. Sutton will be sentenced later.
First-degree murder is punishable by up to 60 years in prison; concealment of a homicidal death is punishable by up to 7 years in prison.
Charges of concealment of a homicidal death are pending against the nephew.
