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SALT LAKE CITY — Jonathan Fithian was shaken up that November morning, when police say he went to the home of Paul Butterfield and tried to rob him, but killed him instead.
Whether he was just trying to pistol-whip the 26-year-old man when the gun went off or whether he aimed and shot to kill will ultimately be decided by a jury. Fithian, 28, was ordered to stand trial Monday on charges of murder and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies, possession of a gun by a restricted person and obstructing justice, second-degree felonies, by 3rd District Judge Dennis Fuchs.
It was unclear what, exactly, Fithian may have been after when he entered Butterfield's home on Nov. 24, 2010. Both men were users of methamphetamine, but Butterfield was also apparently in possession of some counterfeit money.
Nicole Walters, who testified that she drove Fithian to Butterfield's home, said she didn't know why Fithian needed a ride, but she counted both men as good friends. They entered the home and had smoked methamphetamine when Butterfield called Fithian's cousin a name — the same cousin who apparently spread the word about the money Butterfield had.
"Paul called somebody in (Fithian's) family a name and that was when a shooting occurred," she said. "Jon said something to Paul like, 'Give me all your stuff' or something to that matter just before the gun went off."
She said she didn't know Fithian was carrying a gun in his waistband and didn't know how to react once the gun was fired.
I saw my brother being backed into the kitchen with a gun pointed at his face and I said, 'Mom, Paul's been shot in the back, there's blood on his back.'
–Tonice Butterfield, victim's sister
"We realized (Paul) had been shot and Jon said, 'Where are the keys?,'" she recalled. "I just stood there frozen. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know what to do."
Butterfield's sister, Tonice, said she was sleeping in her mother's room when she woke up to the "pop" of a gun going off and the sound of a woman's voice saying, "Oh my ... You shot him."
"I saw my brother being backed into the kitchen with a gun pointed at his face and I said, 'Mom, Paul's been shot in the back, there's blood on his back,'" she said through tears.
She then heard her brother say, "Dude, OK. I'll get it, I'll get it." She said Fithian turned the gun on her, prompting her to return to the bedroom. When she came back out, her brother was on the kitchen floor.
"His hands were real tight at the side of him and there was blood everywhere," she said breaking down into sobs. "He was going into convulsions."
Sierra Lawhead, Paul Butterfield's girlfriend at the time, was sleeping next to the man on the couch when they were woken up by the presence of Walters and Fithian.
It was unclear as to how the Walters and Fithian got into the home. Luke Butterfield testified he let the pair in, but Walters said the door was unlocked when she and Fithian arrived.
During cross-examination, Lawhead was questioned about statements she made to police just after the shooting, saying she thought it was an accident. But in court, she said she didn't recall making those statements. She still isn't sure about what exactly happened.
"All I know is (Fithian) cocked the gun, he had his finger on the trigger and he hit (Butterfield) in the head with it and it went off," Lawhead said.
Walters testified that she thought Fithian had pistol-whipped Butterfield and said the man never pointed the weapon at Butterfield. But all of the witnesses identified Fithian as the man with the gun and said he later fled the scene.
He was located soon after by officers with West Valley City police about three blocks away from the Butterfield family home near 6400 West and 4000 South.
Fithian has been scheduled for an arraignment April 11.
E-mail:emorgan@ksl.com
