FENNVILLE, Mich. (WOOD) — Nearly six months after Harold “Butch” Knight allegedly strangled his wife before fleeing to Maine, detectives say it appears he has reached out to family through Facebook.
Allegan County sheriff’s detectives say someone used the Facebook account of his wife, Sara Knight, in mid-May — four months after she was killed.
“Somebody’s been using Sara’s account and ‘liking’ pictures,” Detective Craig Gardiner told Target 8. “Her family contacted us and thought it was strange that somebody was using her Facebook page to ‘like’ different things.”
Authorities said they strongly suspect that “somebody” was Knight. They believe he has a laptop and that he’s the only person who knows his late wife’s Facebook password.
Detectives said they have worked with the U.S. Marshals Service to get a search warrant for Facebook and are waiting for results.
The 66-year-old Knight is suspected of strangling his wife at their home near Fennville in January. Her body was discovered Jan. 13. He then fled to Maine and was last seen on Jan. 19 in Rangeley, near the Canadian border.
Sara Knight’s daughter, Roxanne Harris, said her mother’s cousin discovered that someone using the victim’s Facebook page had liked a photo on May 16, three days before Sara Knight’s birthday. It was a photo of relatives at the zoo in Pittsburgh.
“I think he’s watching everybody’s Facebooks,” Harris said, referring to members of her family. “I think he’s paying attention to what we’re writing on there.”
While she said she is “creeped out, … at the same time, I hope it gets him caught.”
Harris said she has tried reaching out to Knight, hoping to “guilt him” into surrendering.
“I’ve left him messages on Facebook, some not so nice,” she said. “Like on my mom’s birthday, I left a message to him on how she missed out on her birthday.”
Allegan County detectives said federal marshals and Maine state police have helped chase down a handful of tips on Knight’s whereabouts. Investigators believe Knight had less than $10,000 at the time of his wife’s death, so they doubt he has much, if any, money left.
“He could be getting help from someone or working somewhere and they don’t even know he’s a wanted person,” Detective Gardiner said.
Until they hear more, they will continue to focus on Maine.
“He could be living next to someone, living in a small town, living out in the woods in a cabin and could evade arrest until someone identifies him,” Gardiner said. “He could be about anywhere at this point.”
