Durham man charged with murder after woman killed near Duke Park in January

A 25-year-old man has been arrested and charged with killing a woman in a Durham neighborhood park in January, police said Monday.

Shawn Leroy Butler, 25, of Durham is charged with murder in the death of Shakida Rivers on Jan. 27, near Duke Park. She was 41.

Police responded to the park on West Knox Street after 2 a.m. and found Rivers, who had been shot. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Butler also is charged with possession of firearm by a convicted felon.

He has been in the Durham County jail since Feb. 6 on a federal detainer for a weapons violation charge, according to the Durham County Sheriff’s Office website.

Police have not provided information on a possible motive or connection between Butler and Rivers.

Previous murder charge dismissed

In 2014, when Butler was 16, he was charged with the murder of an 18-year-old, The News & Observer reported. But as jury selection was nearing a conclusion, Butler, who was 19 at the time of the 2017 trial, had his charges dismissed.

In addition to murder, other dismissed charges included six counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling, and three counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling inflicting serious bodily injury, The N&O reported.

Assistant District Attorney Jim Dornfried said at the time that new evidence brought up questions about Butler’s involvement in the case, The N&O reported.

Butler said he was innocent, his attorney said, The N&O reported. Butler had been living in a group home at the time of the killing, and court documents said his “overall level of functioning was in the extremely low range.”

Anyone with further information about Rivers’ death is asked to call Investigator M. Evans at 919-560-4440, ext. 29336 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.

Virginia Bridges contributed to this story.