GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The 2015 murder of a West Michigan’s Sara Porter is still an open case, as her husband, the suspected killer, remains at large. The case will be seen and heard by the nation Wednesday at 10 p.m. as part of Investigation Discovery series, “In Pursuit with John Walsh.”
Butch Knight met his wife Sara Porter in Gladwin while she was caring for his mother as a respiratory therapist. With an 18-year age difference, they married in 2001.
On January 13, 2015, deputies found 48-year-old Porter strangled in their Ganges Township home. What followed next was a series of strange behavior by Knight.
During a probable-cause hearing, police revealed Knight called in an anonymous tip, saying Knight “…advised dispatch on a taped line that they did hard to this person and that they were leaving the country.”
After the murder, police also said Knight sent Porter’s family $2000 dollars toward cremation costs and a letter, saying police would never catch him.
Two days after Porter’s body was found, Knight checked into the Town and Lake Motel in Rangeley, Maine. He and Porter resided in Maine from 2007 to 2012. Motel owner Joey Morton said he remembered Knight wearing a one-piece camouflage suit. “He looked so calm, just walking around, but the outfit that he had on just made him stand out,” Morton said.
It’s likely that Knight also colored his mustache and hair black. “The pillow cases had hair dye on them, and the sink in the bathroom had black dye in it too,” Morton said.
Knight checked out of motel on January 19 and police would issue a murder warrant. He was seen near the Canadian border and authorities say they believe he fled the country. U.S. marshals are still searching for Knight, who would now be 70 years old.
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