MASON COUNTY, Mich. — Members of law enforcement from around the country are expected to attend the funeral for a murdered Michigan state trooper, Saturday. Services will be held at Manistee Middle High School, where students are spending Friday getting their school ready.
All this as the man suspected of shooting Trooper Paul Butterfield remains hospitalized and has yet to be formally charged.
Eric Knysz’s wife, Sarah, has already been charged with two felonies. Her mother, Angel Burnham, spoke with FOX 17 about what she learned from her daughter about what happened inside the truck during the traffic stop.
Burnham described Eric Knyzs as controlling and that he even held Sarah hostage in their bedroom for up to two days.
Sarah told her lawyer what went on when Trooper Butterfield pulled Eric over, according to Burnham.
“From the information we’ve gathered, (Eric) did not have a driver’s license when they were being pulled over. As soon as the officer was pulling them over, he started to freak out, and Sarah had told him, ya know, calm down, don’t do anything stupid, watch your mouth, you have no warrants out for you, nothing’s going to happen. And, then I guess, it just happened.”
“She did tell her lawyer that right after [Eric] shot [Trooper Butterfield] that for a split second she thought about leaving,” said Burnham. “She goes, ‘But what was I supposed to do, hop out and run through an open field? What’s to say he wouldn’t put a bullet in my head next?'”
(Reporting by Ann Marie LaFlamme)
