Father Found Guilty for Murder of 16-Month-Old Son

A jury has found a Mount Morris Township man guilty of several felonies, including murder, related to the death of his own child.

On Wednesday, 41-year-old Michael Butler was convicted on charges of felony murder, first-degree child abuse, concealing the death of an individual and aggravated domestic violence. In 2022, 16-month-old Chaos Butler was removed from his mother’s custody while she was staying at a homeless shelter. Despite a recommendation by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services against granting Butler custody of the boy due to his past felony convictions, a Genesee County judge did.

In August 2022. a woman discovered Baby Chaos’s body in a ditch in the 9400 block of of North Moorish Road, wrapped in a blanket. It was determined the child had been dead for several weeks and was killed by blunt force trauma to the head. An autopsy revealed he also had methamphetamines in his blood.

Butler’s sentencing takes place March 18. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.