Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘A Haunting Stretch of Road’ of NBC’s ‘Dateline’ chronicles the mysterious disappearance of Pamela “Pam” Butler in February 2009 and the years-long investigation that ensued. Over the course of the investigation, the detectives suspected various individuals before they finally connected the perpetrator to the crime. By the end, the killer was also linked to another similar crime a couple of decades earlier. The documentary features in-depth interviews with Pam’s loved ones who recount their experience and path to justice.
Pamela “Pam” Butler Built a Fulfilling Life With Determination
Thelma Butler welcomed her beloved daughter, Pamela J. Butler, in 1961. Since they resided in a tough neighborhood in Washington, DC, the resilient mother worked really hard to raise both her kids — Pam and Derrick — with strong values and love. While they faced financial hardships, there was no dearth of support and warmth in the Butler household. No matter how tough their situation got, the trio got through it together, with unwavering support and belief in one another. After growing up, Derrick served as an auto mechanics teacher in high school, while Pam carved a career in public service. Her professional journey began with a summer stint at the Commerce Department. Her experience helped her secure employment at several government agencies.
At 40, Pam was leading a balanced life, personally and professionally, that she had built with hard work and perseverance. She was thriving on all fronts — she had achieved success, lived in a two-story house, and maintained a close bond with her family and friends. She was known for her compassion, organizational skills, and sense of responsibility. By the time 2008 rolled around, she had been working at the Environmental Protection Agency as a computer analyst. In September, her personal life saw a pleasant development when she got into a relationship with Jose Rodriguez-Cruz. They stumbled across each other on a dating site and realized they enjoy each other’s company and would like to explore their spark further. After serving as a military police officer in Virginia, Jose went on to pick up a job at a medical clinic.
Pamela Butler’s Remains Have Still Not Been Found
In February 2009, Pamela Butler was excited to treat both Jose and her mom, Thelma, to a dinner date on Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, the federal worker went missing before that special day. As per the plan, Pam was supposed to pick her mother from the latter’s place on February 14. So naturally, when she didn’t turn up, Thelma got worried as it was quite uncharacteristic of her daughter. When they couldn’t reach her by phone for days, Pam’s mother and nephew, Brandon, rushed to her residence. They didn’t find Pam, but discovered piles of mail and papers scattered around as well as a pulled-up blind, all of which indicated something wasn’t right. They grew concerned and contacted her workplace, only to learn she hadn’t reported to work.
The Butler family then filed a missing persons report, urging the authorities to help find Pam. Upon checking her house and the surrounding area for any clues, the detectives found confounding evidence. From the footage recorded by the motion-activated security cameras, they determined that while she did enter her home on February 12, 2009, Pam never left. Furthermore, they also obtained her purse and noted that her cars were still parked in the driveway. Additionally, nothing hinted at a forced entry or physical distress. For years, her loved ones held on to hope while the authorities continued their efforts to find Pam. However, with no development in the case even after seven years, the Butler family accepted their tragic fate in August 2016 and had their beloved Pam legally declared dead.
Pamela “Pam” Butler’s Killer Was Someone Close to Her
As soon as Pamela Butler went missing, her brother, Derrick, suspected her boyfriend, Jose Rodriguez-Cruz, of being involved with her disappearance. Jose told him that he and Pam had broken up on February 13, 2009, the day before she vanished. He claimed that she was not fine with him being in touch with his former girlfriend’s daughter. As per his accounts, he later visited her again to collect his belongings from her place. His frequent visits were captured on the property’s surveillance camera, which the authorities went through as part of the investigation. Although he was seen carrying a bag or two out of the house, the detectives concluded that they weren’t large enough to fit the remains.
Within a few months of investigation, they suspected that Derrick might be responsible for the disappearance. They believed that since he was the beneficiary listed in her will, he had a financial motive to commit the crime. The brother was even brought in for questioning multiple times, but he maintained his innocence and claimed that he had nothing to do with her disappearance. For a while, suspicions were also raised about Pam’s nephew, Brandon, who used to live with her earlier. However, both of them were eliminated as suspects due to a lack of evidence.
As the case had collected dust for a few years, it was reopened and reexamined by a fresh pair of eyes. When the lead detective, Mike Fulton, went through the security footage of Pam’s residence, he noticed numerous small details that proved to be critical. Not only did the home’s motion sensor lights fail to turn on when Jose arrived at the house, but he was seen carrying Pam’s copy of the house key, which had a keychain attached to it. With suspicions looming over Jose, the investigators dug deep into his past and learned that his former wife, Marta Haydee Rodriguez, had also disappeared under mysterious circumstances back in 1989. While he was married to Marta, he also reportedly maintained a secret marriage to Guadalupe.
The Killer Was Also Involved in the Murder of His Ex-Wife
While the authorities searched for Marta soon after she vanished, they found out that his sister-in-law had been posing as Marta in Florida. Moreover, Guadalupe had told the authorities about Jose’s abusive behavior towards her. By the time 2017 rolled around, the detectives had gathered enough circumstantial evidence against Jose, who was then arrested on April 8, 2017. As per reports, Jose visited Pam’s house in the 5800 block of Fourth Street Northwest in Washington, DC, on the night of February 13, 2009, and turned off the home security alarm system. The couple reportedly got into a heated argument wherein Pam allegedly commented on his job and financial status.
Jose claimed that he punched her in the face and proceeded to strangle her to death. After turning off the motion sensor lights of the property, Jose placed Pam’s remains into his car through a rear window that was not under surveillance and drove away with them to dispose of them. In the following two days, he came to the house to dispose of any evidence of the crime, including her cellphone. After confessing to his crimes, he decided to take a plea deal. In early October 2017, he pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder charge in connection with the killing of Pamela Butler.
As part of the deal, he was supposed to provide information regarding the burial site of Pam’s remains. He claimed that he buried her in a shallow grave in the median strip between the northbound and southbound lanes of I-95. The authorities failed to recover her remains from the site due to numerous improvements to the express lanes and the drainage in the area. Jose Rodriguez-Cruz was ultimately sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing Pamela Butler. Later, it was revealed that in the same area along I-95, he had buried the remains of his former wife, Marta Rodriguez, two decades earlier.
Read More: Where is Jose Rodriguez-Cruz Now? Update on the Killer
