WILTON — Come December, it will be approximately 20 years since the unexplained murder of beloved local man, Raymond “Butch” Weed. His death shocked the town of Wilton in 2003 and since then has left a black mark on the community.
Weed and his murder were the subject of a recent episode of Dark Downeast. A true crime podcast based in Maine, Dark Downeast seeks to uncover and reexamine long unexplained events, disappearances, and even murders.
“Dark Downeast combines my journalism background with my passion for storytelling and heart for advocacy,” Creator Kylie Low says on her website. Since October of 2020, Low has released over 150 episodes of her podcast that features Maine and other parts of New England and seeks to uncover truths surrounding crimes that have gone unsolved.
Weed, in the podcast, was described as a “deeply devoted family man, and he gave his all to everything he did, whether it was showing up for his family whenever they needed him, helping out his friends and neighbors, skillfully building and renovating the homes of his clients, or volunteering his time for his community.”
Originally from Connecticut, Weed came to Wilton in 1985 and soon found himself beloved by the townsfolk. A contractor by trade, Weed embedded himself in the community through his business New Horizons Builders as well as being an active member of the Lions Club in Wilton.
On the evening of December 23 in 2003, two of Weed’s friends discovered his body and immediately called the police. Weed, who was 40 years old, had been shot to death.
In the wake of his death, the Weed family offered a $10,000 reward for any information that would lead to an arrest. In the podcast, it states Weed, along with the rest of his family, were still reeling from the passing of his father and that Christmas that year would be the first without him. In a phone call before his passing, he assured his sister he would be at his mother’s house on Christmas day at 9 a.m.
Elaine Weed, Butch’s mother, died in April of 2018. In an interview with Sun Journal, Butch’s sister Rachel Weed Skidgell said, “It is incredibly hard for any parent to pass without the answers.
“I can’t imagine,” she continued. “To lose a child is unbearable and to not have closure – it’s something she carried with her to the day she died. It’s a burden you can never give up.”
Weed’s investigation is still ongoing. According to Low, Skidgell was interested in appearing on her podcast to speak about her bother, but ultimately decided not to make an appearance.
“The emotional toll of speaking about her brother even after all this time, was a lot for her to bear,” Low said in her podcast.
Skidgell, however, gave a message to Low to deliver on her behalf. “She was glad to know that he has not been forgotten not only by the people that he loved, by people that didn’t even know him,” she said.
If you have information regarding this case, please contact the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit – South at [207] 624-7076 x9 or toll free at 1-800-452-4664. You may also report information about this crime using the leave a tip form.
For the episode in question and more, you can find Dark Downeast on Apple Podcast and Spotify.
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