Homicide cases in Butler County have made more headlines in 2023 than they did in 2022, but law enforcement officials say what looks like a rising crime rate is really an anomaly.

While Butler County went from one homicide in 2022 to five in the first six months of 2023, District Attorney Rich Goldinger said the county’s general crime rate has decreased by thousands of cases over the last several years.

“I think these are all isolated incidents,” he said. “It’s an anomaly, because Butler County is generally safe. I don’t think it is a trend.”

Goldinger said that since he became district attorney in 2008, the county has had an average of one to three homicide cases continuing to move through the court calendar each year. In the past, he said the county’s homicide rate was at least one per year.

“It’s unusual; it does stand out. We don’t have many homicides,” he said.

The 2023 homicide cases in the district attorney’s office are against Amanda M. Hughes, 27, of Cranberry Township; Dakota B. Hughes, 23, of Eau Claire; and Jessica L. Callahan, 19, of Hilliards.

Two other deaths were ruled homicides by the county coroner’s office following an incident May 29 at a park and ride on Perry Highway in Muddy Creek Township.

Police said Jacob C. Smith, 31, and Jenna C. Smith, 28, shot at each other in a vehicle following an altercation. The couple was from Pulaski Township, Lawrence County, and died at the scene.

According to Goldinger, the homicide cases have one thing in common.

“I think the only similarity is they seem to be domestic-related incidents. It’s not a random stranger allegedly shooting anybody they don’t know.”

He added that, according to a recent study by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, Butler County has the fourth lowest crime rate of the 67 counties in the state.

“Our case filings are way down in the last 10 years … I think we’re doing pretty well,” he said.

In February, Amanda M. Hughes was accused of shooting and killing her boyfriend, Anthony D. Smith, 30.

Hughes told police Smith had been punching her in the face and head prior to the shooting Feb. 12. Cranberry Township police were dispatched around 12:10 a.m. to a home on Brandywine Drive, where police found Smith at the base of a flight of stairs with multiple gunshot wounds, according to reports.

During Hughes’ preliminary hearing in March, it was revealed Smith was shot five times: twice in the arm, once in the thigh, and twice in the back.

Lt. Chuck Mascellino, of Cranberry Township police, said the case is a rarity.

“For Cranberry Township itself, we haven’t had a homicide in quite a while,” he said.

According to Mascellino, the most recent violent death in the area was after Jessica Royall, 33, was accused of involuntarily killing her boyfriend, Ryan Minett, in March 2018.

Witnesses had reported Royall speeding in a car with Minett clutching the roof racks before falling off at the corner of Cross Creek Drive and Little Pine Road and hitting a steel light post. The impact led to his death.

“It’s unusual for us to deal with homicides,” he said. “We’ve had several shootings, but it’s not common to result in a death.”

Dakota B. Hughes was charged with criminal homicide March 3 after police said he shot and killed his mother’s boyfriend, Seth Gooden Smith, 27, in Eau Claire.

Police said there were incidents of domestic violence reported between Smith and Dakota’s mother.

During a preliminary hearing in March, police said that Smith had been shot three times: twice in the chest and once in the groin area.

Jessica Callahan was charged March 20 in the shooting death of Tyler J. Whitlatch, 31. She reported to police that two physical altercations had occurred between her and Whitlatch before she shot him in the back, according to court documents.

Police said Whitlatch died as Callahan transported him to a hospital. She was apprehended at the North Washington Rodeo grounds.

The district attorney’s office also is handling cases from homicides that occurred in years past. Those cases include charges against Alec Miller, who was charged with killing Maximillian W. Halterman in Oakland Township in 2019; Shaina Grush, who was charged by city police with stabbing and killing Robert Wagner in 2020; and Hassan Brack and Brooke Fair Smith, who were charged in May 2023 by city police in connection the 2021 death of Hakeem Moran.

Trooper Joshua Osche, who’s in the criminal investigations unit with Troop D, said state police handled the Dakota Hughes and Callahan cases. He added that the only similarities between them are the relationships between the defendant and the deceased.

“Violent crime is a result of violent intentions … It just comes down to human behavior,” Osche said.

He noted that, across the board, violent crime rises and falls.

“Some violent crime has gone up, some has gone down. If you break it down, it’s a bit of a roller coaster,” he said.

Though there has been an increase in homicides this year in the county, aggravated assaults have decreased 2.5% and violent sexual offenses have decreased 25% compared to last year, according to Osche.

However, simple assaults have increased 4.5% compared to last year, and robberies have also increased, he said.

According to Bertha Cazy, public information officer for Troop D, neighboring Beaver County has consistently investigated more homicides than Butler County in recent history.

Cazy added that Beaver County consistently has the highest homicide rates in Troop D, which also covers Butler, Armstrong, Lawrence and Mercer counties.

Osche commented that the recent rise in homicides within state police jurisdiction in Butler County is uncommon.

“It’s an anomaly until it isn’t,” he said. “If we start looking at five years of steady increase, we’d have a trend.”

Osche said that Troop D investigated one homicide last year after the body of Frederick Orr, 32, was found June 11, 2022, along Kelly Road in Muddy Creek Township.

Daniel C. Lloyd, 21, of Pitcairn, and Nicole L. Schwartz, 32, of Ellwood City, were charged with homicide in connection to Orr’s death.

State police also investigated two attempted homicides, Osche added.

“It’s going to be hard to predict how the rest of the year goes,” he said. “I can’t say (our) number stands out. Every one is significant.”

Goldinger said the county’s decreased crime rate can be contributed to a few factors on the part of the prosecution and incarceration process.

“We’ve put in a lot of programs. Behavioral health court … we’ve stepped up prosecution on drug cases and are seeking higher penalties,” he said.

He also discussed the reentry program for inmates being released from Butler County Prison. Through the county probation office, they can receive help finding employment as well as drug and alcohol treatment.

“All that, as a whole, has helped them to lead a better life and not go back to what they were doing,” Goldinger said.

Goldinger said the crime rate has dropped dramatically in Butler County in the last 10 years.

In 2013, Goldinger said 2,428 criminal cases were filed. A recent high was marked in 2016, with 2,873 filings. Significantly fewer cases were filed in 2022: 1,774.

“The crime trend is good for Butler County, but unfortunately, we don’t want to have homicides,” he said.

“What we’re dealing with is unprecedented; that’s why I think what we’re seeing isn’t a trend.”