Wife wielding crowbar kills husband during argument, Springfield police say

A Springfield woman fatally struck her husband in the head with a crowbar during an argument Thursday at a home in west central Springfield, court documents say.

Jeanette L. Riddle, 46, told police she struck her husband multiple times, then went into a different room where she took prescription pills and slit her wrist in an attempt to kill herself, court documents show.

Riddle was charged Friday with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The incident was described in a probable cause statement which says police officers forced their way into the home on the 800 block of South New Avenue around noon.

Inside the home, the statement said, was Michael C. Butts, 44, lying dead on the kitchen floor with blood covering his face, and Riddle was found in the living room, incoherent and vomiting.

Butts' mother told police she was on the phone with Riddle at 11:51 a.m., the statement said, and Riddle was explaining how she woke up to find her husband's dead body.

According to the statement, that's when the mother-in-law said she heard what sounded like gurgling, then Riddle hung up the phone.

The statement said the mother called authorities to report her son had been killed.

According to the statement, family members told police that Riddle and Butts' relationship was physically abusive and that both abused drugs and alcohol.

Neighbors told the News-Leader that the couple had lived there for about a month.

Riddle was interviewed by police later and said she hit her husband with the crowbar during an argument.

A news release from Springfield police said Riddle was hospitalized with serious injuries, though they did not appear to be life-threatening.

According to the release, Riddle's bond has been set at $250,000.

Butts' death is Springfield's fifth homicide of 2017.