Christopher Butler, the man accused in 7-year-old Paris Williams' death has 10 prior convictions, according to court records. As new details emerge, we spoke with Paris's first-grade teacher, who shared that the hardest part of being an educator is not knowing what happens when children go
"Handcuffed and flanked by two law enforcement officers, Christopher Butler's four-day taste of freedom is over. Last week, Addis Police named Butler as a suspect in the death of seven-year-old Paris Williams, a beloved second-grader in West Baton Rouge Parish. Lily Bradford will always remember Paris' smile. Paris was truly such a bright light in our classroom and in my life as a person. No matter what we were doing in the classroom, no matter where we were going in the hallway, she always had the biggest smile on her face. Bradford remembers the precocious seven-year-old as a child who loved other students. She never met a stranger and left a lasting impact on people who knew her. Our one thing, our biggest thing is to save these kids, protect these kids, and they go home and we don't really know what happens at home and what we can do is love them and keep them safe when they're with us and I think that's the hardest part. Last week, Addis Police Chief Jason Langlois says his department received a call of a child unresponsive. When they arrived at a trailer, seven-year-old Paris Williams was rushed to the hospital where she died. Detectives tell us it appeared there was some sort of fight or violent incident inside the trailer between Christopher Butler and the child's mother, Breon Dorsey. Detectives say during the fight, furniture was overturned and somehow Paris died, leading to charges for the child's mother and Butler. The mother is facing an obstruction of justice charge and principle to murder charge. I know it's unfortunate that a lot of people are crying out why was the mom arrested, but right now, the facts and evidence that we have in place, that is why she was arrested. Tonight, the I-Team found Butler has a lengthy run-in with law enforcement and prosecutors. Our team found 10 convictions on Butler's record dating back to 2010 for violent charges like aggravated flight, illegal use of a weapon, simple assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and felony theft. In all of those cases, Butler was sentenced, served his time, or was released from prison. Tonight, he's facing second-degree murder charges. Police say that you're responsible for it. How do you make sense of that? I'm innocent. It always hits different when it's a child. It really does, but they're supposed to live that good long life, you know, and to have it cut short over something of this nature is just, it's senseless. For Lily Bradford, making sense out of a child's death is something she hasn't quite been able to do just yet, but pictures of Paris's smile help her hold onto memories of a child who left her mark on a small community over seven short years. She was such a bright light in my life and a bright light in everyone else, and so just asking for continued prayers for her family, her friends, and especially her classmates who maybe won't understand quite exactly what happened, but peace that they'll know that she is in a great place still."
💬 Discussion
Christopher Butler, the man accused in 7-year-old Paris Williams' death has 10 prior convictions, according to court records. As new details emerge, we spoke with Paris's first-grade teacher, who shared that the hardest part of being an educator is not knowing what happens when children go