Arrest made in murder of 58-year-old Mulberry woman
Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office
MULBERRY (FOX 13) - Nearly two weeks after a Mulberry woman was found dead in her home, detectives say they have made an arrest.
The body of 58-year-old Tammy Butler was discovered on March 22 after 6 p.m. Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to the home on NW 1st Avenue in Mulberry after her friends, who haven’t spoken to her in several days, requested a well-being check.
Deputies said when they entered her home they found Butler “obviously deceased inside.”
On Thursday morning, the sheriff’s office announced they arrested a Bartow man in connection with her murder.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said deputies arrested Marvin Brewer, 53, on first degree murder charges. "He viciously murdered her," said Sheriff Judd Thursday. "He cut her throat. He intended for her to die on that Sunday afternoon in her home."
Judd said the Medical Examiner was able to recover DNA evidence that linked Brewer, who has an extensive criminal history, to the murder of Butler. Brewer also admitted to being with Brewer that Sunday afternoon, and witnesses have shared surveillance video with deputies that shows he was with her that afternoon.
Judd says Brewer once lived with Butler, and he went to her home to have sexual relations in exchange for $30. Instead, Judd says Brewer raped and murdered Butler.
Sheriff Judd says they were tipped off by a call to Crime Stoppers. He was arrested and charged with first degree murder.