FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Flagler County authorities arrested a 50-year-old Flagler Beach man on May 27 who is wanted in Virginia on charges in the 2021 death of his wife, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
Ross Butler was taken into custody outside AdventHealth Palm Coast after detectives learned he had been admitted to the hospital and located him following his release, the sheriff’s office said. He is wanted by the Chesterfield County Police Department on charges that include first-degree murder, abduction, felony homicide and strangulation in the Dec. 2021 death of his wife, Ashlee Butler, officials said.
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Chesterfield County detectives have been investigating the case for more than four years. Although the death was initially reported as a suicide, investigators say the scene and the victim’s injuries were inconsistent with suicide and that the scene appeared to have been staged. A grand jury in Chesterfield indicted Butler on murder and strangulation charges on May 18.
“Thanks to cooperation between our Criminal Intelligence Unit, Fugitive Apprehension Unit, the Chesterfield County Police Department, and the Flagler Beach Police Department, he’s hiding out no longer and will soon be headed back to Virginia to face justice,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a news release.
After an interview with Chesterfield County detectives at the FCSO, Butler was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. He is being held without bond pending extradition to Virginia. Butler has prior arrests in Flagler County for charges that include driving while license suspended, DUI and possession of marijuana.
Chesterfield County Police continue to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to call the department’s nonemergency number at 804-748-1251 or Chesterfield County/Colonial Heights Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.