On March 27, 2023, Malcolm Gadsden, [DOB 12/22/1971] pled guilty to one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a class A felony. Mr. Gadsden pled guilty to intentionally killing January Butcher [DOB 1/31/1981]. The murder occurred on or about December 23, 2021, at 964 State Street, Apartment 1F, in the City and County of Schenectady, New York. The guilty plea was entered on the morning that the trial was scheduled to commence with jury selection. The plea agreement calls for the defendant to receive a life sentence with a minimum of eighteen [18] years to life in state prison. The plea takes in full satisfaction the two remaining counts in the indictment which charged the defendant with Tampering with Physical Evidence and Criminal Possession of a Weapon. Mr. Gadsden is scheduled to be sentenced in Schenectady County Court on June 20, 2023.
The investigation into the death of January Butcher began in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve, December 24, 2021. Dispatchers at the Schenectady County Unified Communication Center received inbound 911 calls from an individual determined to be Malcolm Gadsden indicating that he needed to be picked up by the police because he had just killed his girlfriend at 964 State Street. Based on those calls, police were dispatched to Mr. Gadsden’s location and 964 State Street, which was the defendant and victim’s shared residence. Members of the Schenectady Police Department located an obviously deceased January Butcher inside the residence. Mr. Gadsden was then transported to the Schenectady Police Department where he offered a lengthy and full confession to Detectives Farrand and Kietlinski. In that confession, Mr. Gadsden admitted to stabbing and choking January Butcher and thereby murdering her. The defendant’s confession in this case was corroborated by the autopsy, Schenectady Street Camera footage, and forensic evidence. Items collected from the scene and clothing collected from both the victim and defendant were transported to the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center, where forensic testing was performed on those items. The forensic testing revealed January Butcher’s blood on Mr. Gadsden’s clothing and his DNA on her body.
District Attorney Robert M. Carney stated: “This case is another tragic manifestation of domestic violence that we have seen too many times. There was never a doubt as to who killed Ms. Butcher but the defense was hoping for a manslaughter conviction on the theory that he killed her under the influence of an extreme emotional disturbance. Our prosecutors were well prepared to disprove that theory and it was very important to the family of Ms. Butcher that the defendant be held accountable for intentionally causing her death. Today he acknowledged his guilt to intentional murder.”
The People were represented by Special Victims Bureau Chief John J. Carson and Assistant District Attorney Maria Apruzzese. Mr. Gadsden was represented by Schenectady County Public Defender Stephen Signore and Assistant Public Defender Stephan Weiss. Schenectady County Court Judge Matthew J. Sypniewski presided.