A former Sweet Home man convicted of second-degree murder of another Sweet Home man will be given a new jury trial next year after the charge was reversed and remanded by the Oregon Court of Appeals.
In April 2021, Page Lee Butterfield, now 31, was found guilty by Judge Tom McHill of the May 2019 murder of Corey A. Burdick, 43, during what prosecutors described as an argument over a drug deal.
Butterfield was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 25 years and no possibility of parole. His life sentence included no possibility of reduced sentence or participation in work release programs or other early release. He was also convicted of second degree felony assault with a firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Butterfield filed an appeal one month after his sentencing and was granted a re-trial for the murder charge earlier this year. A 12-person jury is expected to hear the case beginning June 9, 2025.
According to police, the murder occurred on May 24, 2019, at a travel trailer occupied by Ervin Larry Smith at 541 Surrey Lane. According to Police Chief Jeff Lynn at the time, Butterfield and the other two men all showed up at the residence “at about the same time” and an altercation broke out between Burdick and Butterfield.
Butterfield pleaded not guilty to five counts, claiming self defense. The defense claimed he was being robbed by Burdick and Smith during a drug deal.
According to the probable cause affidavit, police responded to a call at 2:32 a.m. on May 24 based on a report that two males had been shot.
An officer located Smith outside his travel trailer with a gunshot wound to his torso. He was later listed in stable condition. The officer also located Burdick deceased inside the trailer with an apparent gunshot wound to the head.
The caller, Alyssa Godell, told police she arrived to pick up Burdick, and another male, whom she did not know, also arrived, according to the affidavit. During the investigation, Godell identified the suspect in a photo lineup.
During an interview, she told an investigator that Burdick said he needed to talk to Butterfield about something, and the three of them entered the travel trailer, according to the affidavit. The witness said Burdick accused Butterfield of sending inappropriate messages to Burdick’s girlfriend, and a physical fight ensued between Burdick and Butterfield.
Godell told police Smith came out of the bedroom while the two were arguing, according to the affidavit. Butterfield was sitting in a chair near the door. She and Burdick were seated on the couch.
Godell told police she became scared and backed away from the argument when she heard a gunshot, according to the affidavit.
She said she briefly looked back and saw Butterfield with his arms extended holding what appeared to be a gun toward Smith and Burdick, according to the affidavit. She hid in the bedroom area, heard two more gunshots and then heard a vehicle leaving the area.
Police located two 9 mm casings inside the trailer and one more just outside the trailer door, according to the affidavit, and a May 25 autopsy showed that Burdick died from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head fired at close range.
Butterfield was located and arrested by Oregon State Police in Sisters on the evening of May 26, 2019, two days after the homicide, after a trooper spotted a red 2008 Ford Edge that an acquaintance of Butterfield had reported stolen in Albany. Butterfield had been a suspect in the theft of the vehicle.