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Eric Knysz’s Mother Arrested in Connection With MSP Trooper Killing

Posted at 4:24 PM, Nov 18, 2013
and last updated 2013-11-18 16:39:22-05
Trooper-Paul-Butterfield-GFX-3

File photo of Trooper Butterfield

MASON COUNTY, Mich. — Tammi Spofford, the mother of Eric Knysz, is now in custody in connection with the killing of Michigan State Police Trooper Paul Butterfield.

Knysz is accused of murdering Butterfield during a Sept. 9 traffic stop on Custer Road in Mason County.  His wife, Sarah, pleaded guilty earlier this month to being an accessory to that murder and unlawfully driving away a motor vehicle.

During Sarah’s testimony, she said that Knysz had confessed to the murder to his mother.

Spofford has said that she was unaware that her son had killed Butterfield.  She is accused of allegedly helping both him and Sarah steal a car from a Branch Township resident, according to Michigan State Police.

She is expected to be arraigned Tuesday.