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Three at Gay Party Testify to Seeing Murderer There Accused Murderers Slam Each Other's Testimonies |
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By Jack Nichols
Butler claims that it was Mullins who had cut Gaither's throat and had beaten him to death with an ax handle. Butler had previously admitted, however, to hoisting the dead man's body onto a small pile of tires they then set afire. He also admitted to burning Gaither's automobile. He reportedly hid evidence. Claiming as his motive that he personally hates homosexuals, Mullins insisted Gaither's murder had been a joint venture since he'd asked Butler to join him. Butler, he said, had claimed he too hated homosexuals. Butler's attorney, however, swung back Thursday by introducing surprising testimony that seemed relevant to Mullins' motives. Dramatic allegations of Mullins' participation in an act of male-male oral sex erupted. The act had taken place, according to observers, at a party in a neighboring county.
According to Mullins' testimony, in order to kill him, he baited Billy Jack Gaither by promising him sex with the 21-year old Butler. But Butler, said Mullins, was the one who provided him with a pocketknife to cut Billy Jack Gaither's throat. And it was Butler, he claims, who first suggested where the deed should be done. Post-Presstime Note: Late Thursday Charles M. Butler was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole. Billy Jack Gaither's father, Marion, has asked that he not be sentenced to death. "I can't see taking another human being's life, no matter what," he told reporters. Marion Gaither also said he hoped that his son would not be remembered as a gay murder victim, but as "one of the finest sons a man could want." |
