Married couple found dead in a Nampa home was a murder-suicide, police say

Nampa Police have determined that the married couple found dead Saturday died as a result of a murder-suicide involving a gun.

The two people, an adult man and woman, were found after someone called police around 12:49 p.m. to the home in the 10 block of South Fairview Street, just south of Lone Star Road in Nampa.

On Monday, police said they identified as Philip J. Butler, 29, and Kaylynn M. Butler, 27, a married couple, as the deceased.

Nampa Police said the bodies were first discovered by a family member who had gone to check on the residents of the house since they hadn’t heard from them for a few days. When the family member went inside of the residence, the bodies were found and police were called to the scene.

Nampa Police Sgt. Tim Riha said there was only one weapon found in the house. Kaylynn Butler suffered two gunshot wounds and Philip Butler only had one wound, which led police to believe that he shot her before shooting himself. Detectives could not be 100 percent certain of who shot who first, Riha said.

Police are not searching for any other suspects in the deaths. The investigation showed that the Butlers were the only people in the residence, and there is no evidence to indicate that anyone else was involved.

This case isn’t the first murder-suicide resulting from domestic violence this year. In May, Jacyln Zabel, 29, was fatally shot in Caldwell by her boyfriend, Ian Stone, Canyon County authorities have said. Stone, 37, then turned the weapon on himself. Both people died shortly after the shootings at a hospital.

In that case, Stone had a history of abusing Zabel and at least one prior criminal conviction for domestic abuse.

The Canyon County cases are part of national problem. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that on average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.

About 72 percent of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner, and 94 percent of the victims of these crimes are female, according to the coalition.

NEED HELP?

Anyone impacted by domestic violence and in need of help should call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

The Boise Women’s and Children’s Alliance’s hotline can be contacted at 208-343-7025.

Boise’s Faces of Hope Victim Center can be created at 208-577-4400.

Nampa residents may call 211 and ask for Nampa’s Domestic Violence Hotline, or call 800-621-4673.

Caldwell’s Advocates Against Family Violence’s hotline can be contacted at 208-459-4779.

This story was originally published September 17, 2018 at 2:26 PM.