New Developments In The Case Of The Two Christian Music Producers Killed In Garland Last June.

We hadn't heard anything in some time about investigation that followed the murders of two Christian music producers, Matthew Butler and Stephen Swan, as the two were leaving Butler's Zion Gate studio late one night last June. Well, not since James Broadnax and Demarius Cummings were arrested in connection with...

By Pete Freedman

August 7, 2009

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

We hadn't heard anything in some time about investigation that followed the murders of two Christian music producers, Matthew Butler and Stephen Swan, as the two were leaving Butler's Zion Gate studio late one night last June. Well, not since James Broadnax and Demarius Cummings were arrested in connection with the incident and we checked in on Butler's family, at least.

Today, though, comes this interesting bit of news in the Morning News: Broadnax, who is facing the death penalty and stands accused of killing the two producers, starts his trial on Monday (Cummings' trial daate has not yet been set), and the judge in the case, State District Judge Mike Snipes, has issued a gag order in the case. Which means, as the Morning News item lets us know, "Dallas County prosecutors and defense attorneys cannot discuss the case with the media... [so as] to limit media coverage before and during the trial so jurors are not exposed to news about the case."

To which we reply: Limit this!

Well, not really. We'll do our best to keep you posted on anything we hear about the case. But, given this news, it doesn't appear like it'll be too much...

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Dallas Observer has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.