Indianapolis Mother Makala Pendley Found Dead in Mexico; Seven Children Located Safe

Makala Pendley, 30, of Indianapolis, was found dead in the village of Zinacantán in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas over the weekend, more than three months after she and her seven children were reported missing on February 25. Pendley, who was at least six months pregnant, had been in the ditch for eight to 12 hours before discovery, and Chiapas State Prosecutor Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca confirmed her death was caused by traumatic brain injury secondary to blunt-force trauma. Her family described the manner of death in more graphic terms, saying she was stabbed, raped, sodomized, and beaten. Her seven children — ranging in age from 1 to 12 — were located safe and in good health in the San Cristóbal de las Casas neighborhood and placed under government protection, with U.S. Embassy coordination underway to return them to family in Indianapolis. Joseph Jude Butler Jr., the children's father, was arrested and identified as the primary suspect; prosecutors are seeking the maximum sentence of 100 years for femicide. Llaven Abarca said U.S. authorities informed Mexican officials that Butler had an active arrest warrant in Alaska and a prior criminal history including assault, robbery, fraud, illegal weapons possession, intimidation, and rape. Pendley's sister said the couple had been in an on-and-off toxic relationship since Pendley was 16, and that Pendley had fled to Mexico fearing her children would be taken from her by child services.