Man Convicted of Murdering Daughter and Keeping Her Body in a Freezer

This week Thursday, it was reported that a man from Orange County was convicted of torturing and murdering his adult daughter. After killing his daughter, he kept her body frozen in his recreational vehicle.

57-year-old Clarence Eugene Butterfield of San Clemente was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of special circumstances murder during the commission of torture and mayhem as well as one felony count of assault with a firearm,

He is expected to be sentenced on October 8^th and faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.  In 2006, Butterfield tortured his 21-year-old daughter Rebekah and repeatedly shot her in various parts of her body such as her legs, feet and knees.

He then tied her ankles together, bound her hands behind her back and stuffed her into a horizontal freezer in his motor home while she was still alive. Eventually she suffocated and he left her body in his freezer for over two years after the murder.

In 2008, Butterfield was arrested for obstructing a police officer. Workers at a company that had towed his recreational vehicle discovered his daughter's body inside of the freezer wrapped in several layers of plastic.

Prosecutors say that Butterfield had a history of violence and that he had stabbed and shot his daughter numerous times before murdering her.  He also beat his ex-wife and forced her to remain in the closet.

The Law Offices of Gregory H. Comings represents those who have been charged with serious crimes. Contact us today to speak with a Riverside criminal defense attorney.