'Ding-Dong Ditch' Shooting Leads To Murder Indictment Of Fredericksburg Man

SPOTSYLVANIA, VA — A Spotsylvania Circuit Court grand jury indicted a Fredericksburg man on a murder charge for the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Bosworth Jr. last May, which authorities said happened as a result of a “game of ding-dong ditch,” gone bad.

In addition to the Class 2 felony murder charge, Tyler Chase Butler, 27, faces nine other charges in connection to the May shooting, according to court records. He is due back in court on Friday for a status hearing.

Spotsylvania County sheriff’s deputies responded to a home in the McKenzie Lane area around 3 a.m. on May 3 for the report of a burglary in progress in which shots had been fired, according to the incident report.

Deputies found two teens with gunshot wounds and a juvenile who was unharmed, according to authorities.

The sheriff’s office told the Fredericksburg Free Press that a resident of the home shot the two teens after confronting them as they came out of the back of the home. The sheriff’s office said Bosworth, who was a senior at Massaponix High School, had suffered a gunshot wound to the torso, and later died at an area hospital.

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The sheriff’s office did not release the identities of the two other teens. One of them had been grazed by a bullet, was treated at the hospital and later released, according to the Free Press.

The teens told investigators that they and Bosworth were playing a game of “ding-dong-ditch,” in which they would ring a stranger’s front doorbell and then run away, according to court documents, as reported by WUSA9. After ringing the bell at Butler’s home, Bosworth was shot in the back as he ran away.

In a surveillance video shown last month in court, Butler was seen holding a gun and yelling, “What y’all on?” and “Y’all just in my crib,” according to WUSA. He then said, “Hold up cuz, I’m about to blow one of the [expletive] down.” After the shooting, Butler can be heard on the video saying, “Luckily, I didn’t smoke one of you [expletive].”

The additional charges included three counts of malicious shooting into an occupied building (Class 4 felony); two counts of firearm use in the commission of a felony; possession of a firearm while under a protective order (Class 6 felony); two counts of malicious wounding (Class 3 felony); and attempted second degree murder (unclassified felony).

Following a preliminary hearing in Spotsylvania County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, the charges were certified to the grand jury, according to court records.

On May 20, a Spotsylvania Circuit Court denied Butler’s bond appeal and he was remanded to custody, according to court records.