Viswa Vanapalli
A rather bizarre 911 call to the dispatch in Allegan County, Michigan, had the police rush to a residence there. The call came from a murder suspect who admitted to killing his wife. The second half of Investigation Discovery’s ‘In Pursuit With John Walsh: Tragic Entanglement’ deals with the death of Sara Knight and the authorities’ efforts to arrest her husband and the suspect, Harold “Butch” Knight. So, if you’re curious about the updates in this case, here’s what we know!
Who is Harold “Butch” Knight?
Butch and Sara married in 2001. They met when Sara worked with Butch’s mother as a respiratory therapist. Despite the 18-year age difference, the couple seemed to make it work and led a seemingly happy life. They had children from previous marriages and had lived in Maine for a few years before moving to Michigan in 2014. Along with Sara’s daughter, Roxanne, the couple spent a lot of time outdoors. So, the 911 call on January 13, 2015, took everyone by surprise.
The speaker, who was later identified as Butch by his son, stated that Sara was dead. He said, “OK, um, I strangled her. She is dead, and she is laying on the living room floor. You need to get law enforcement out there to do whatever they do with dead bodies.” He refused to identify himself on the phone and claimed he was leaving the country. When the police got there, they found 48-year-old Sara covered with a sheet and strangled to death. There were addresses and phone numbers of Sara’s relatives placed on a table close by.
The coroner placed the time of death to be sometime on January 11, 2015. According to the police, Butch then withdrew all the money from the couple’s bank account, bought a pistol and ammunition, and traveled to Rangeley, Maine. Then 69 years old, Butch made the call from Ann Arbor, Michigan, but didn’t stay there for long. In Rangeley, he checked into a motel on January 15 and stayed there for about four days.
Butch had dyed his hair and mustache black and had left Sara’s car, which he used to travel, at a Walmart parking lot about 35 miles from the motel. On January 17, Butch sent Sara’s mother a letter and $2000. He wanted them to honor Sara’s wish to be cremated. Butch also wrote about why Sara was killed, saying that he was involved with drugs and had seen something. However, the authorities couldn’t prove that Butch had narcotics connections.
Has Harold “Butch” Knight Been Found?
Butch left the motel on January 19, and the car was discovered on January 31, 2015. Since Rangeley is only fifteen miles from the Canadian border, the authorities feared he crossed over. However, Butch also had diabetes, and they felt the harsh winter could have killed him. Despite following leads in several states, Butch has not been seen since he checked out of the motel. The case, though, remains open, and the US Marshals have continued to look for him.
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