Neighbor, after machete attack: ‘That house looked like somebody had been massacred’

Man allegedly cut roommate with machete during fight over laundry

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – An arrest warrant has been issued for a Northeast Side man who San Antonio police say slashed his roommate with a machete.

Police are trying to track down Paul Butler, 55, who is facing a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Roommates’ argument over laundry ends with man being slashed by machete, police say

Mug shot of Paul Butler from a prior arrest. SAPD now has a warrant out for his arrest after machete attack. (KSAT 12 News)

The charge stems from a fight that turned especially violent late Tuesday night.

Officers responded to a home in the 100 block of Ashland Drive where they found Butler’s 58-year-old roommate suffering from several deep cuts.

He was rushed to a hospital with what police said were life-threatening wounds.

Paramedics load 58 year old man into ambulance after he was slashed with machete. (KSAT 12 News)

“I went in there and that house looked like somebody had been massacred in that house,” said Tanna Hodges, who lives in the area. “From the front door, I mean, to the bathroom, down the hallway, the kitchen was completely full of blood.”

Hodges said she was outside, talking to another neighbor, when she saw Butler leaving the home.

She says as he drove off, he told them to check on the roommate, who was hurt.

“He said, 'He's cut, you know, and he's bleeding," Hodges said. “We're just thinking a little cut. I'm thinking, little cut.”

Instead, she said, she found the man with severe gashes to his hands, the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers sliced open.

According to a police report, Butler began swinging the machete after his roommate hit him with a broomstick.

The report and Hodges both say laundry was at the center of their fight.

“Apparently, (the injured man) didn't hang it out on the line to dry, so the other one got mad because his clothes weren’t dry,” she said.

Hodges says the two roommates had been at odds for quite a while, bickering almost daily.

Still, she says she never expected things to end as badly or as bloody as they did.


About the Authors:

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

Tim has been a photojournalist and video editor at KSAT since 1998. He came to San Antonio from Lubbock, where he worked in TV and earned his bachelor's degree in Electronic Media and Communication from Texas Tech University. Tim has won a handful of awards and has earned a master's in Strategic Communication and Innovation from Tech as well.