College Park Police have arrested 4 suspects in the execution-style slayings of two female roomates. A third roommate found the bodies of Lanaetria Butler and Karida Wikler early Sunday morning in their apartment in the 3100 block of Godby Road. Butler was 28. Winkler was 34.
It was Lanaetria Butler’s ex-boyfriend that contacted her family in Jacksonville, Fla. with the news of her murder. “He said, ‘A boy that knows me and Renee told me Renee had gotten killed,’” said Elizabeth Butler, Lanaetria’s grandmother. “He was crying when he called me.” Lanaetria Butler left Jacksonville five years ago and moved to Atlanta, according to her mother. Butler is survived by five children, the youngest of whom would be a year old in August. The oldest, ages 6 and 7 are being cared for by her mother in Jacksonville.
Working with tips from neighbors, police arrested and charged 3 teens for the gruesome crime. 18-year-old Boubacar Traore, and 19-year-olds Anthony Wilder and Carnell Owens. Late Wednesday night, police also identified a fourth suspect in the double-homicide, Christopher Lorenzo Varner, 23. Each have been charged with murder after also attempting to rob Winkler and Butler. College Park police spokesman, Sgt. Eddie Atkins says one of the women was discovered in the apartment’s dining room. The other in the kitchen. Each woman had been shot once in the head.
Wilder was arrested Tuesday night in Union City on different charges, College Park police detective Sgt. Eddie Atkins said. “We had a tip that he had information,” Atkins said of Wilder. “Detectives interviewed him and he confessed.” During the interview, Wilder gave up two of his accomplices.
Owens was picked up at 2727 Godby Road, an apartment complex just blocks away from Butler’s and Winkler’s apartment and Traore was arrested in an apartment in the same complex where the women lived, but police declined to say whether he knew them.
All four arrested suspects are being held at the College Park jail without bond.
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ATLBlogger
Comment made on July 23, 2009 @ 11:25 am
OMG, ATLien, thanks for shedding light on this tragic incident. I actually went to school with one of the victims sister and did not know until she made a statement on her FB page. I haven’t been hearing much about it on the news but I’m glad the suspects are caught and hopefully they will be properly punished.
quantumPeach
Comment made on July 23, 2009 @ 11:26 am
this is just tragic. i heard about this Sunday. Godby road is too much for me, always has been and hopefully always won’t be. *smh*
Dana T.
Comment made on July 23, 2009 @ 12:26 pm
Do we even know why these idiots did this?! Whatever the reason there is no reason. I want to say this to everyone who is reading this, PEOPLE, YOU CAN’T CONTROL OTHER FOLK! All of this getting mad cause somebody aint doin what you want them to do or cause they are cheating or whatever! YOU CAN’T CONTROL OTHER FOLK! Killing them is not controling them! They’re just not here anymore to continue to do whatever they were doing b 4!
Law and Order, did we ever have such a thing cause the law is out of order in my opinion.
Dana T.