PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Palm Beach County man who said he killed his wife with a knife and hammer because "voices" told him to do so in 2019, was sentenced to 28 years in prison Tuesday in a plea deal.
Wilfred Buteau, 58, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder during a hearing before Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe. He originally was charged with first-degree murder with a deadly and up to life in prison in the Dec. 19, 2019, death of Aliette Buteau, 49.
Buteau was a school bus driver for the Palm Beach County School District. The couple had an 8-year-old son.
Prosecutors say he struck and killed with the claw end of a hammer during an argument at the couple's home in the 6800 block of Torch Key St. in the Lake Charleston community west of Lake Worth Beach.
Buteau called 911 around 3:30 a.m. saying he thought he had killed his wife, according to the arrest report.
"She jump on me, I think so, and she have a knife," Buteau told a dispatcher.
Buteau said his wife had been abusing him for the past 14 years, the arrest report said.
Deputies said they found Aliette Buteau on the living room floor. There were injuries to her face and head and "there was a claw hammer that was impaled into her right eye socket," along with a "large cut across the throat area" and blood all over the living room.
Deputies said they believed Aliette Buteau was still breathing and applied pressure to her neck wound. However, when Palm Beach County Fire Rescue arrived, she was pronounced deceased at the scene.
During the investigation, Buteau's adult son, Beethovo Buteau, arrived at the home.
"There were no signs of any injuries on Wilfrid Buteau that would be consistent with him being jumped on, or attacked with a knife," the arrest report stated.
