1968 newsman's obituary

An Associated Press story from Feb. 1968 mentions the death of Roy Layman Butterfield, 85, after a brief illness. The article says Butterfield was a Cortland correspondent for the Post Standard of Syracuse in 1906 when he was assigned to cover the trial of Cortland resident Chester Gillette for killing Grace Brown.

He was credited with discovering the dead girl’s roommate and with Cortland police searched her room, finding letters used toward Gillette’s conviction, the article said.
Butterfield later became an educator and historian.