Butcher

PENDLETON — Pendleton police say a man arrested Tuesday, June 23, allegedly beat another man to death on Pendleton’s Westgate Place Bridge near Trailhead Park earlier that morning.

According to a press release, the Pendleton Police Department arrested William Harvey Butcher III, 28, on one probable cause charge of second-degree murder after officers were dispatched to the Trailhead Park area around 3:42 a.m. for a report of a disturbance and found a man who had been “severely assaulted.”

Pendleton Fire and EMS responded to the scene and transported the victim, whose identity has not been released at this time, to St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton. The man was later pronounced deceased as a result of the injuries he suffered in the assault, the release stated. 

Pendleton police then took Butcher to the department to obtain a statement before booking him into the Umatilla County Jail in Pendleton, according to the release.

The release described Butcher as a homeless individual recently living in the Pendleton area. 

Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus said June 23 that authorities won’t be releasing any additional information about the case at this time and wouldn’t say what or how Butcher was connected to the crime, only that police had linked it to him at this time. 

Primus added that he anticipated the victim would be identified publicly on Wednesday, June 24. 

The Oregon State Police Crime Lab is assisting Pendleton police with evidence collection and forensic analysis, according to the release.