Keith Dwayne Nelson, Murder of Pamela Butler, Missouri 2002

A 10-year-old girl's life was brutally taken in a heinous crime that shocked the nation. Keith Dwayne Nelson, a man with a twisted mind, had been planning to kidnap, rape, torture, and kill a young girl for months. In October 1999, he told an acquaintance about his dark intentions.

Nelson's twisted plan was put into action in October 1999, when he parked his white pickup truck outside the home of 10-year-old Pamela Butler, who was rollerblading nearby. He grabbed her around the waist, threw her into the truck, and sped away as Pamela's sisters looked on in terror.

Nelson raped Pamela and strangled her to death with a wire before burying her in a forest behind a church in Kansas City, Missouri. The devastating act of violence left Pamela's family and community reeling.

Nelson was later arrested and charged with kidnapping and unlawful interstate transportation of a child for the purpose of sexual abuse resulting in death. In October 2001, he pleaded guilty to the charges.

In 2002, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri sentenced Nelson to death, consistent with a federal jury's recommendation.

Today, more than two decades after Pamela's tragic death, justice was finally served. Keith Dwayne Nelson was executed at U.S. Penitentiary Terre Haute at 4:32 p.m. EDT by the Vigo County Coroner.

Pamela's family, including her mother, attended the execution and witnessed the implementation of the sentence for Nelson's horrific crime. Their bravery and determination for justice will never be forgotten.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/statement-department-justice-spokesperson-kerri-kupec-execution-keith-dwayne-nelson