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Trooper Murder Suspect’s Mother Going to Trial

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LUDINGTON, Mich. — Tammi Lynne Spofford, the mother of the man charged with the killing of Michigan State Trooper Paul Butterfield, waived her preliminary examination Monday and is now going to trial.

Spofford is charged with being an accessory after the fact to Butterfield’s murder and vehicle theft.  Her son, Eric Knysz, is going to trial for that murder in February.

She faces a maximum of five years for each charge if convicted in Mason County’s 51st Circuit Court.

Sarah Knysz, Eric’s wife, was sentenced Tuesday to between two and five years in prison for the same crimes that Spofford faces.

Spofford allegedly helped her son and his wife steal a car in Mason County after Butterfield was shot during a traffic stop Sept. 9.  The couple was arrested in Manistee County after the shooting.