Charles William "Butchie" Singer, aged 48, was tragically murdered on February 8, 2017, in Bunnell, Florida. His death was the result of a violent altercation with his wife, Dorothy Singer. According to court records, Dorothy Singer shot her legally blind husband five times near their home. The incident occurred during a heated argument, which Dorothy claimed escalated to the point where she acted in self-defense. However, prosecutors argued that she killed him while he was asleep in their master bedroom.
Following the murder, Dorothy Singer attempted to conceal the crime by hiding Charles Singer's body. His remains were discovered months later, severely decomposed and wrapped in bedding, buried beneath tarps, debris, and a jon boat on the couple's property. This discovery led to a significant investigation, culminating in Dorothy Singer's arrest and subsequent trial.
Dorothy Singer was initially found guilty of first-degree murder in May 2018 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, this conviction was later overturned by the 5th District Court of Appeals due to procedural errors during the trial. Specifically, the court ruled that the trial judge had abused his discretion by not allowing a continuance after new DNA evidence was introduced shortly before the trial began.
In a retrial, Dorothy Singer pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 32½ years in prison. She must serve a minimum of 25 years of this sentence. Throughout the legal proceedings, Dorothy maintained that she acted in self-defense, citing years of abuse at the hands of her husband. Despite her claims, the jury and the court found sufficient evidence to convict her of murder, rejecting her self-defense narrative.
