Development in Case of Couple Buried on Beach

Utah native Adam Williams is now in a Texas jail on felony theft charge
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 7, 2019 9:10 AM CST
Man Seen Driving Slain Couple's Truck Is in Custody
Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office's Chief Deputy Jaime Garza holds a wanted poster for Adam Curtis Williams as Kleberg County Sheriff Richard Kirkpatrick speaks during a news conference in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday.   (Courtney Sacco/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP)

A 33-year-old man thought be to connected to the New Hampshire couple found in a shallow grave on a Texas beach is now in custody. Adam Curtis Williams was detained in Jalisco, Mexico; surveillance video taken Oct. 21 showed him and a woman identified as Amanda Noverr driving across the border in the pickup truck and trailer used by James and Michelle Butler before their murders. It's unclear if Noverr—a Utah native, like Williams, per USA Today—is in custody. Williams, however, arrived at Kleberg County Jail in Kingsville, Texas, late Wednesday to face a charge of felony theft, reports WMUR.

"We are glad to hear the arrest has been made and await what's next," James' sister, Debbie van Loon, tells the outlet. Williams is considered a person of interest in the murder of the Butlers but has not been charged. The pickup truck and trailer were seen crossing the border two days before the Butlers were reported missing and almost a week before their bodies were found on Padre Island. The couple had been traveling the US, finding odd jobs along the way. They'd apparently parked in Corpus Christi on Oct. 15, per WMUR. A cause of death hasn't been released. (More murder stories.)

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