2nd-Degree Murder Charge Filed Against Spotsylvania Co. Man In Death Of HS Student

SPOTSYLVANIA,VA — A 27-year-old Spotsylvania County Man is facing a second-degree murder charge in connection with the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Bosworth Jr. early Saturday morning, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Tyler Chase Butler. In addition to the murder charge, he was also charged with malicious wounding charge and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Butler is being held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond.

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

Arriving on the scene, deputies found two teens with gunshot wounds and a juvenile 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 identified Bosworth, who was a senior at Massaponix High School, as one of the two injured teens, according to the Fredericksburg Free Press. Bosworth, who had a gunshot wound to the torso, was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

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. No charges have been filed against the two teens nor the resident.