Funerals Set for 2 Airmen Slain at Base

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE — Private funeral services are planned for two of the three airmen killed in the first multiple slaying at this storied test-pilot and astronaut base, an Air Force spokesman said Monday.

A service for Senior Airman Darrick Moore, 27, is scheduled for 3 p.m. today on the base. Another will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday for Tech. Sgt. Robert B. Butler, 34, said John Haire, media relations director at the base.

Funeral plans for Senior Airman Devaughn L. Brown, 23, of Lawton, Okla., who apparently killed the other two, have yet to be worked out.

Haire said autopsies on the three were completed Sunday but results will not be made public until the Air Force’s detective service, the Office of Special Investigations, completes its inquiry into the multiple slaying.

“That could take several weeks,” Haire said. “Under Air Force regulations, we can’t talk about ongoing investigations.”

Haire said investigators still don’t know for sure what caused the incident or what role alcohol might have played in the slayings. Moore’s widow, Senior Airman Adriana Moore, said Saturday that apparently the killings were sparked by a grudge that flared up during Brown’s brief encounter with Moore Friday night at a base bar.

Officials believe Brown first shot and killed Moore near a base dump and later shot Butler, an MP who tried to stop Brown for drunken driving. When backup military police arrived, Brown escaped to his dormitory’s recreation area, where he killed himself.

Meanwhile, the base has set up a memorial fund for the family of Butler, the only father among the three dead, Haire said. Butler’s daughters are 3 and 5; his son, 7.

Contributions to the Butler Memorial Fund can be sent to: 95 SFS/CCF, Butler Memorial Fund, Attn. Master Sgt. Michael Guzman, 105 E. Yager Blvd., Edwards Air Force Base, CA 93524.