James Butler

James Butler Jr. (born December 18, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2004. He challenged Sven Otke for the IBF super middleweight world title on September 1, 2001. He is famously known for his bout on November 23, 2001 against Richard Grant where he was arrested after the fight for assault. Butler was considered a suspect since he had been friends with Kellerman for over 10 years.

On October 20, Butler, accompanied by a lawyer, sought treatment for his alleged bipolar disorder.

Butler was arrested for the Kellerman murder on October 27. Two days later, he pleaded not guilty to murder and arson. He was held on $1.25 million bail. Prosecutors claimed that Butler, the only suspect in the case, repeatedly struck Kellerman in the head with a hammer, then torched Kellerman's Hollywood, California apartment in an attempted cover-up.

On July 8, 2005, a Los Angeles judge ruled there was sufficient evidence for Butler to stand trial on charges of murder and arson.

On March 27, 2006, Butler pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and arson in the 2004 death of Kellerman. On April 5, Butler was sentenced to 29 years and four months in prison by Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, according to Deputy Public Defender Jack Keenan.