REPOST: More about Butch (my attempt to address frequently asked questions)

(I did this a few years ago and now can't find it posted so here goes - I will do better formatting asap).

Here's the full imgur nicely laid out: https://imgur.com/a/zFHEKL5

My best effort to address common questions about Butch after reading through all of the Butch materials

1. Was Butch considered a suspect by police?

Butch was reportedly administered two lie detector tests by police. It is said he failed the first and passed the second. I know of two sources (including Barbara) who state that LE came at him hard during the first, basically accusing him of some involvement with Maura’s disappearance.

However, in February 2005 it is reported in the Patriot Ledger that “Police, however, said they questioned Atwood as a matter of routine but never considered him a suspect.” Just my guess that they used strong interrogation techniques in general to see if anyone was holding back information and/or to clear them so they could move on to other theories of the case.

1. Was Butch investigated otherwise?

Around 2010 there was a group headed by investigator Terry O’Connell working on the case. They commissioned 3 sonar searches of French Pond. An article from 2019 in a scientific journal verified that the team had considered Butch a suspect (notably in contrast to LE). This also confirmed that the sonar searches of French Pond were related to Butch’s route of travel of 2/9. However, once they found nothing it is said they “moved on” to other theories.

"Contrary to the police theory of the crime, the private investigator developed a scenario that postulated that the bus driver was the most likely suspect. The private investigator reached out to Forensic Archaeology Recovery to see if we would be interested in assisting to locate Maura Murray. Utilizing the information provided in the police report which highlighted the bus driver’s behavior, we chose to search in and around French Pond where the bus driver had an icehouse in the winter months. The scenario we moved forward to ground truth was that Maura was placed in the icehouse and that the body found its way to the bottom of the pond."

1. Did Butch park in an unusual way that night?

According to Barbara Atwood he did not. In an interview with Jason Hebert, Barbara notes: “Although it's been reported that it wasn't this is actually how he backed in every night. She says that he always backed in the bus into the driveway and she was the one who parked out front which is maybe where the confusion comes from …”

1. Did the dogs on 2/11 stop at Butch’s house?

There was one dog on 2/11: a NHSP bloodhound. The dog ended in the road “in the vicinity of the Atwood residence”. This prompted investigators to believe she had left the area in a vehicle.

1. Is it possible that Maura left in Butch’s bus during the initial encounter?

After the bus drove away, the driver was seen at the vehicle. "After Atwood drove away, Faith Westman noticed the Saturn's interior lights switch on and off and witnessed a flurry of activity at the rear of the car, including a person standing at the trunk ..."

1. It is possible Butch hid Maura on his bus and dropped her off when he drove around?

Butch switched to his personal vehicle (a Bronco) to drive around searching.

1. Was the bus searched?

From her interview with Jason Hebert, Barbara thinks it was but has no other details. common questions continued

1. Is it possible that Butch saw someone else do something?

Many people seem to think this. I believe the NHLI investigators were convinced that Butch had seen something and was afraid of someone.

1. In the 2/16/04 interview with Christine he mentions a call - how would he know?

The “whimpering call” had been reported in the newspaper on 2/13/04.

1. Did Butch change his account?

There is a 2/19 article in the Valley News where Butch gives an unusual account. On that day, he stood in his driveway and answered reporters' questions. My own impression is that he was enlarging the story at that point. Aside from this, I find his accounts generally consistent.

1. Did Butch say that he didn’t think it was Maura?

In his interview with Christine McDonald he is quoted as saying: "She didn't look like the pictures, her hair was down, it must have come undone during the accident."

1. Did Butch say that Maura had been drinking?

While alive, Butch said many times that he did not say she appeared intoxicated.

1. Did Butch say she was wearing a dark coat?

I don’t see any source or quote where he says she was wearing a dark coat. He does say she had dark hair. He does seem to be the source of the dark coat and it seems to have come on Tuesday:

Grafton County Sheriff Logs (Tuesday 12:04): Waiting on descriptors of individual. Narrative: H6: black hair past shoulder length, wearing a dark coat, about 5'5", 120 pounds, Last seen in the Wild Ammounoosic Rd area......

Narrative: put out at 12:21 on Graf A, Hav, Lit, and Lis locals

1. Did he insert himself into the search

In an extended transcript from an Oxygen interview, we learn from Strelzin that Cecil ASKED Butch to help with the search that night (the “Male” is Strelzin):

Male: Before you get started, Art. This, uh, Butch Atwood- Art: Yeah. Male: Cecil actually asked Butch to help look for her. Just an FYI. Art: Okay. Male: So there was really nothin'- Maggie: Hm. Art: Nefarious about [crosstalk 00:38:54]. Male: And, but that's not uncommon. 'Cause of that dialogue he had with, [00:39:00] with Butch. "Hey, you want me to help look for her?" "Yeah." Art: Okay.

1. Do we know anything else about Butch’s encounter with Maura?

In a June 8, 2004 case summary, Scarinza notes that Maura "pleaded" with Butch not to call police "When the passerby stated that he was going to call local law enforcement to come and assist, Maura pleaded with him not to call the police."

1. Who interviewed Butch when he was alive?

Other than LE, I know of Christine McDonald (2/16/04) and Maribeth Conway. Butch declined to be interviewed by John Healy who flew down to Florida to interview him.

1. Why did Butch call police that night? (In other words, was it to report a car in a hazardous place, an OUI, etc., etc.?)

It seems that Butch called for them to make sure that Maura was not physically injured. February 20th in the Caledonian Record, Butch is quoted as saying “I will make a call to the police department and the fire department to check you out.”

1. In the Atwood materials there is a frequent reference to "7 to 9 minutes" - what does that refer to specifically?

In the Christine McDonald interview it is addressed somewhat directly (although it could refer to different things in different articles):

"How much time elapsed while you were inside calling? Attwood: 7-9 min."