Cyril man to be tried in September for murder count

ANADARKO — A Cyril man pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and is slated for a September trial in Caddo County.

On Wednesday, Justin Chase Milford, a.k.a. Chase Burns, 35, entered his plea in Caddo County District Court before Special District Judge David A. Stephens to an amended charge of second-degree murder and eluding/attempting to elude police, records indicate. The murder count is punishable by between 10 years to life in prison.

Milford was originally charged with first-degree murder for the Sept. 9, 2023, death of his passenger Billie Jean Butler, a.k.a. “B.J.,” 35, of Oklahoma City. Anadarko police had attempted to make a traffic stop for an expired tag and Milford took off in a Chevrolet Tahoe and a pursuit ensued, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Milford leaped from the moving SUV and fled; however, Butler was unsuccessful in her escape and was pinned between the vehicle’s seat, the door and a concrete barrier on a bridge on U.S. 281 a half-mile north of Anadarko, the affidavit states.

Investigators received an anonymous tip on Sept. 11 that Milford was at a home in Cyril, where he was found hiding in a closet and taken into custody, according to the affidavit. Following his arrest, Milford told investigators he didn’t mean for Butler to be hurt; he’d thought she would take the wheel.

The first-degree murder charge was amended on April 10.

Milford has a June 2019 conviction in Comanche County for a misdemeanor charge of defrauding an innkeeper/restauranteur, records indicate.

Milford made his initial court appearance Sept. 13, 2023, records indicate. The following weekend, Milford attempted to hang himself at the Caddo County jail. He remains held on $800,000 bond.