Butler pleads guilty to Arlee stabbings
<p>An emotional Nathan Butler, 17, leaves the courtroom after changing his plea last Wednesday</p>
POLSON — Nathan Adam Butler, the 17-year-old accused of going on a deadly stabbing rampage in an Arlee home last November, appeared in Lake County District Court last Wednesday and pleaded guilty to three felony counts facing him as part of a plea agreement.
Butler admitted to one count of deliberate homicide, one count of attempted deliberate homicide and one count of assault with a weapon. He was reduced to tears upon entering the plea.
The youth will return to court for sentencing on Sept. 18, although the plea agreement recommends a term of 80 years in prison. During the hearing, Butler’s attorney, Noel Larrivee, expressed hope that “because of [his client’s] age, the court has some discretion about whether to impose the mandatory minimum.”
The early-morning attack on Nov. 12, 2012 claimed the life of Butler’s 51-year-old stepfather, John Fisher. Butler’s mother and another occupant of the home were also stabbed, but survived the injuries they sustained in the incident.