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Pamela Butler Remembered By School
A Memorial Was Dedicated In Her Honor

KANSAS CITY, Kan
May 30, 2000

A tribute was held Tuesday for a little girl who's life ended too soon.

The staff and students of John Fiske Elementary School honored Pamela Butler during a dedication ceremony for a new Pamela Butler Memorial. They are calling the memorial "Pam's Garden". The school has placed a purple bench and butterfly bushes in front of the school building.

Pamela's mom, Cherri West, said that the garden is a very special tribute to her daughter.

"It makes me happy because they're remembering Pamela, that they've not forgotten her."

Pamela would've finished the fifth grade this week. She was abducted and murdered in October.

[Admin]

Man accused of kidnapping a 10-year-old could face the death penalty

Topeka Capital-Journal
April 7, 2000

A man accused of kidnapping a 10-year-old could face the death penalty
if found guilty of charges that he sexually molested the girl and left
her slain in a Missouri field.

Federal prosecutors filed court papers Wednesday after receiving approval from U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to seek the death penalty, U.S. Attorney Stephen Hill said. The attorney general's OK is required before the death penalty can be sought in a federal case.

Keith Dwayne Nelson, 25, of Kansas City, Mo., is charged with 1 count
of aggravated kidnapping resulting in death and one count of interstate
travel to commit aggravated sexual abuse of a child resulting in death.

Pamela Butler was abducted Oct. 12 as she skated in front of her Kansas
City, Kan., house after a trip to a nearby convenience store. Her body
was found 3 days later in a remote area near a church in Grain Valley,
Mo. Authorities haven't said exactly how she died.

Nelson isn't specifically charged with killing Butler, although Hill has
said that for all practical purposes, "this is a kidnapping and homicide
case."

Nelson has pleaded innocent to the charges. Trial in federal court is
scheduled for October.

3 days after Pamela's body was discovered, Nelson was arrested on a
river bank in Kansas City, Kan., after apparently falling off a bridge.
He made his initial court appearances in a wheelchair because of the
severely broken leg.

Attorneys for Nelson said they had been expecting Reno's decision and
hoped to soon review the reasons prosecutors think the death penalty is
warranted.

"You obviously have to look at the aggravating circumstances," defense
attorney Susan Hunt said. "There are always constitutional challenges to
those that you mount."

Pamela's mother, Cherri West, said she was relieved that the man charged with abducting her daughter could face the death penalty if convicted.

"I'm happy," West said. "I'd be even happier if they'd let me throw the
switch."

The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for April 20.

If a jury convicted Nelson, it would then hear evidence before deciding
on punishment. A unanimous vote of the jury would be required for a
sentence of death. If a jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict, the
mandatory sentence would be life in prison without possibility of parole.

[Admin]

Pamela's Story

Information based on documents presented by The United States Court of Appeals /Eighth Circuit

On October 12, 1999, Kieth Nelson told an acquaintance that he had spotted a young girl in the Kansas City, Kansas, area that he wanted to kidnap, rape, torture, and kill, and that now was the time to do it. Shortly thereafter, several individuals spotted Nelson in the area of 11th and Scott Streets in a white pickup truck. Contemporaneously, ten-year-old Pamela Butler was rollerblading in the street near her residence in the same area. Nelson parked his vehicle at the side of the street and
lay in wait. As Pamela skated near the slightly ajar door of the truck, Nelson quickly jumped out of the truck, grabbed her around the waist, and threw her into the truck. Pamela's sister, Penny, observed the kidnapping and saw her sister struggling with Nelson in the cab of the truck. Several witnesses also observed the kidnapping, one
of whom gave chase in his own vehicle. Although Nelson eluded him, the witness was able to write down the license plate number of the truck–Missouri plate number 177-CE2. Several other eyewitnesses verified the truck license plate number.

Later that evening, the custodian of the Grain Valley Christian Church in
Kansas City, Missouri, and his wife saw a suspicious white truck with Missouri license plate number 177-CE2 parked in the church lot. The custodian's wife wrote down the plate number and noticed an afghan in the front seat of the truck. They contacted the police after seeing the kidnapping story on the ten o'clock news and informed them of the location of the truck. When the police arrived at the church, the
truck was gone.

The truck was found abandoned the next day in Kansas City, Missouri. A
police dog that had been provided with some of Pamela's clothing was dispatched to Nelson's mother's house and alerted to an afghan found inside the residence. That same day a large manhunt for Nelson commenced. On October 14, a civilian employee of a police department spotted Nelson hiding under a bridge. After he was spotted, Nelson went into the river and attempted to get away. When he made it back
to shore, he was surrounded by railroad workers who detained him until the authorities arrived. After the authorities arrived, an onlooker shouted, "where is the little girl?" Nelson turned to an officer and stated, "I know where she's at, but I'm not saying right now." His capture was broadcast live on television. The next day the police found Pamela's body in a wooded area behind the Grain Valley Christian Church. That discovery was broadcast on local television, and the United States
Attorney held a live press conference from the discovery site. Subsequent
investigation revealed that Pamela had been raped and then strangled to death withwire. The DNA in seminal fluid obtained from Pamela's underpants matched Nelson's DNA.

On October 21, 1999, a federal grand jury charged Nelson with (1) the
kidnapping and unlawful interstate transportation of Pamela for the purpose of sexual abuse which resulted in the death of the victim and (2) traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in a sex act with a female under the age of twelve which resulted in the death of the victim.
Initially, Nelson entered a plea of not guilty. He then filed a motion for change of venue in January 2000. To test the venue, the court administered a thorough questionnaire to 538 potential jurors to compile data concerning potential juror bias. Because of the thoroughness of the survey and the large sample size, the court needed extra time to compile and consider the data. While the court was analyzing the data,
Nelson's trial was continued several times. The court entered an order denying the motion for change of venue on March 9, 2001. At approximately the same time, Nelson's trial was rescheduled to commence on October 29, 2001.

On October 25, 2001, Nelson pleaded guilty to count one of the indictment, and the district court, upon the government's request and in accord with the plea agreement, dismissed count two of the indictment. Several days later, Nelson attempted suicide by ingesting a large amount of prescription medicine. He wastreated at a local hospital, and the case then proceeded to the penalty phase of the trial in November 2001. The jury hearing the penalty phase returned a verdict that death
should be imposed.

At sentencing, the district court offered the defendant the opportunity to
address the court. Nelson, showing no remorse for what he had done, blistered the district court and the victim's family with a profanity laden tirade.