Windsor police increase, extend rewards for seven unsolved killings
Windsor police have increased and extended rewards in the unsolved murders of seven people over several decades, in the hopes of finally offering some justice to the victims' families.
Police are now offering $20,000 rewards for information in the murders of Kirk Knight in 1980; Marlene Sweet and her young son, Jason, in 1982; Debilleanne “Dee Dee” Williamson and her little boy, Xavier Rucker, in 2003; Jerome Allen in 2018; and Gerardine Butterfield in 2019.
The rewards in each case are available until Dec. 31. 2023.
“We want to not only solve the homicides and bring people who are responsible through the court system, but it so important for the families to get that closure,” said Acting Deputy Chief Jason Crowley. “That's the importance of finding who is responsible for these crimes and bringing them to justice.”
The oldest case on the list is the May 1980 murder of Kirk Knight. Someone kidnapped him, tied him to a cement block and dumped him into the Detroit River, likely while he was still breathing.
Police have said in the past they believe members of the Lobos biker gang, which patched over to the Hells Angels in 2001, were behind the brutal slaying.
Knight's murder likely stemmed from the May 16, 1980, shooting of Lobos gang member John Muzzatti outside the Seminole Tavern, now known as Silvers. Knight's brother was a suspect in the shooting. Muzzatti survived, but the gang wanted payback.
Knight, who had nothing to do with the gunplay, was last seen May 19, 1980, being forced into a green 1972 Chevy Nova by three men. A boater found his body on May 25, 1980, still tied to the cement block, bobbing against some abandoned docks.
The next oldest case is the double murder of Marlene Sweet, 31, and her seven-year-old son, Jason. Their badly decomposed bodies were found in their home, apartment 15 at 8671 Wyandotte St. E., on Sept. 13, 1982. Their deaths were violent. Police have said Sweet was beaten to death and her son appeared to have been smothered.
On Feb. 27, 2003, the bodies of Debilleanne “Dee Dee” Williamson and her four-year-old son, Xavier Brandon Rucker, were discovered in their home at 1323 Tilston Dr. Police never established a motive or a firm suspect, but several persons of interest remain under investigation.
Gerardine Butterfield, 63, was discovered dead in her apartment at 591 Wellington Ave. on May 25, 2019. But police believe she was killed several days before that. Butterfield lived alone in apartment 101 and allowed only immediate family members to visit her. It was known that she would only leave her apartment with those select family members.
Anyone seen with her, trying to contact her or leaving her apartment in May 2019 would be considered suspicious. It was revealed in 2020 that a person of interest had been identified, but police were still looking for more witnesses and additional information.
Jerome Allen, 29, was last seen early in the morning on Oct. 28, 2018, at Leopard's Lounge and Broil. He was reported missing seven days later. Allen's body was never found. Despite not having a body, a crime scene or a murder weapon, police believe he was murdered.
Windsor police arrested three people for murder in April of 2019, but all the charges were eventually dropped. Investigators also executed a search warrant at a residence in the 3400 block of Cross Street in relation to the investigation.
Allen was living in the Windsor area when he disappeared but he had ties to the Greater Toronto Area. Police have said they believe there are people in Windsor, the GTA and elsewhere who know what happened, who is responsible, and where Allen's body was hidden.
“These are never cold, we don't call them cold cases,” said Crowley. “We always have them assigned to investigators and they're always being looked at. We're always looking for new information. That's why we extend or increase these rewards. Hopefully we get that little bit of information, either anonymously through Crime Stoppers or directly to the service.”
Anyone with details about the unsolved cases can call Windsor police at 519-255-6700 ext. 4830, or provide anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers at 519-258-8477 (TIPS) or catchcrooks.com.