Mother of trooper murderer pleads

Tammi Spofford

By Rob Alway. Editor-in-Chief. 

LUDINGTON — The mother of the man who killed Michigan State Police Trooper Paul Butterfield entered a plea in 51st Circuit Court this afternoon. Tammi Spofford, the mother of Eric John Knysz, pleaded no contest to accessory after the fact.

Spofford,  50, of 8124 W. Eight Mile Road, Irons, was arrested last fall for her involvement after Eric Knysz killed Trooper Butterfield on North Custer Road in Free Soil Township. She was also charged with unlawfully driving away a motor vehicle, a charge that has been dropped as part of a plea agreement with the prosecutor.

Eric Knysz killed himself in prison a few days after his sentencing last month. His wife, Sarah, is serving a 2 to 5 year prison sentence for her involvement in Trooper Butterfield’s death.

In February Spofford turned down a plea agreement and had been scheduled for trial later this month. She is now scheduled to be sentenced in front of Judge Richard Cooper on June 17 at 3:30 p.m. She faces a sentence of up to 5 years in prison.