JACKSON, MI (WLNS) – Monday marked day 5 of testimony in the Jackson ‘Murder for Hire’ trial. Rodney McKee, Clifford McKee, and Cortez Butler are charged with murder in the stabbing death of Frances Craig. Prosecutors say back in March 2014 Rodney McKee set fire to the house of a former drug dealer. That drug dealer would move in for a short a period with Eric Wolfe and Frances Craig. This led to the stabbing death of Craig.
After detectives Andrew Sullivan and Joe Merritt met with defendant Cortez Butler, they started to put the pieces together. Butler’s DNA was reportedly found on the zip ties used to subdue Frances Craig.
Blackman Twp. Police Det. Joe Merritt said, “(during the meeting) we talked about the child and the safety of the child, and we talked about my intent…when we were done talking about those things, that’s when Mr. Butler started talking.”
The child Det. Merritt referred to is Eric Wolfe’s now 12-year old daughter. Attorney Jerry Engle who is representing Butler took issue with how Det. Merritt handled the meeting. That’s because during their meeting, according to Merritt, he did not know what to expect to come out of Butler’s interview.
“It was not a situation where as soon as I said we’re not intending to use anything you say against you, he was like ‘oh, okay’ and off he went. It wasn’t immediate, but there wasn’t a lot of dialogue. There was a minor amount of discussion about two things,” said Det. Merritt.
During Det. Sullivan’s testimony, prosecution revealed evidence of Frances Craig’s phone confiscated and later dumped in the woods and the zip ties used to tie Craig up, among other items.
Closing arguments could begin as early as Tuesday, April 5.
