The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said a used condom and shell casing led them to an arrest for a 2015 murder.
A gun stolen from Troy Butler by another murder suspect led investigators straight to him.
JSO arrested Butler on Thursday, more than two years after he was accused of murdering Sabrina Blackshear after having sex with her.
The 45-year-old woman’s body was found in May 2015 on Silver Street in Jacksonville’s Springfield neighborhood.
JSO Homicide Lt. Steve Gallaher said Blackshear was shot in the chest, and investigators found a used condom and 40-caliber casing near her body.
That casing was later matched to Butler’s gun.
Officers made that match because Butler’s gun and car were stolen and used in an unrelated homicide in St. Augustine a few months after Blackshear’s murder.
Shell casings from that St. Augustine murder scene matched the casing found by Blackshear’s body.
Gallaher said DNA from the used condom matched Butler’s DNA and cellphone records placed Butler at the crime scene the night of the murder.
During an interview with a detective last year, Gallaher said Butler admitted paying Blackshear $20 for sex but claimed he then dropped her off at a nearby club.
“It’s frustrating for everyone involved, including the detectives. And obviously, you want to solve these cases as fast as you can. But you need to make sure that you have all the evidence and all the facts so that we have the best case possible,” said Gallaher.
Butler is a felon but does not have a history of violent crime.
A Jacksonville woman was found dead with a gunshot wound to the chest in 2015. Police arrested a man after his gun was stolen and used in a St. Augustine murder: http://bit.ly/2w8sMEo
Posted by Action News Jax on Thursday, August 24, 2017
Cox Media Group
