On a summer night in Pittsburgh, the life of 54-year-old Vera Williams Butler was tragically cut short. On July 28, 2018, police responded to reports of multiple gunshots in the 200 block of Luray Street on the North Side. Arriving at the scene around 11:20 p.m., officers discovered Butler lying in the street in front of her home, having been shot multiple times.
Paramedics were unable to save her, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses reported seeing Butler arguing with her boyfriend, 56-year-old Calvin Stewart Alston, in his pickup truck just moments before the fatal shots were fired. One neighbor heard three shots and then saw someone jump into a truck and flee the scene. Another witness claimed to have heard Alston shout, 'I told you so… I told you so,' immediately after the gunshots before driving away. Friends and family described Butler as a happy person who was always willing to help others. She was a mother and a grandmother.
In a surprising turn of events, five days after the shooting, on August 2, 2018, Calvin Alston turned himself in to authorities. He had mistakenly gone to a drug treatment center, believing it to be the Allegheny County Jail, and confessed to the employees there that he had murdered his girlfriend. The staff at the center contacted 911, and Alston's confession was recorded. He was subsequently taken into custody at the City Court building.
Alston was charged with homicide in the death of Vera Williams Butler. During his trial, the prosecution presented evidence of their tumultuous relationship, including a history of disputes. In July 2021, a jury found Calvin Stewart Alston guilty of first-degree murder and other weapons charges after deliberating for just three hours. He was subsequently sentenced to a mandatory life term in prison.
