Pair found guilty of killing man in Elliott

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A jury deliberated for parts of five days before reaching a verdict Monday that two men were guilty of killing another two years ago in Elliott.

Derek Lee and Paul Durham were each found guilty of seconddegree murder and other crimes in the Oct. 14, 2014, slaying of Leonard Butler, 44, at his home on Lakewood Avenue.

Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence without parole.

The case was before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman.

According to the prosecution, Butler was at home that afternoon with his live-in girlfriend, Tina

Chapple, when the two men broke in, forcing the couple into the basement.

They then beat Butler with their guns and tased him.

When one of the attackers left the basement to look for items to steal, Ms. Chapple told police, Butler lunged at the other, and he was shot once.

Investigators quickly learned that Butler had had an affair with a woman named Jamie Parker. Parker, who has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, told police she asked Lee, 28, with whom she worked, to beat Butler up.

Ms. Chapple identified both suspects from a photo array. She said it was Durham, 27, who shot Butler.

But defense attorneys focused the majority of their case on inconsistencies among Ms. Chapple’s initial description to responding officers and her testimony later at the preliminary hearings and at trial.

Ms. Chapple first told officers the attackers wore black ski masks. At trial she said their faces were only partially covered.

A neighbor, who called 911 that afternoon to report two men acting suspiciously, identified Lee from a photo array and also wrote down the license plate of the car they were in. It traced back to a car being rented by Lee.

Throughout the deliberations, the jury panel of five men and seven women requested to have the testimony of several witnesses read back to them, which Judge Cashman allowed. In addition, they asked to listen to Ms. Chapple’s and the neighbor’s 911 calls, as well as to Ms. Chapple’s recorded interview with police.

Durham was found guilty of all charges against him. Lee was found guilty of robbery and conspiracy in regard to Butler, but he was acquitted of robbery and burglary.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 19.