In 1928, Louise Butler and her paramour, George Yelder were convicted in Lowndes County, AlabamaLowndes County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of William Lowndes, a member of the United States Congress from South Carolina. As of 2000 the population was 13,473. Its county seat is Hayneville.Lowndes County, Alabama of murdering Louise's 14-year-old niece, Topsy Warren. Topsy's sister and two of her cousins testified that Louise struck Topsy with an ax, with which George dismembered the corpse. The remains allegedly were put into a sack and then thrown into the Alabama RiverThe Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about six miles above Montgomery. The river flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about 45 miles (72 km) from Mobile, it unites with the Tombigbee, forming the Mobile and Tensaw rivers, which discharge into Mobile Bay. The course of the Alabama is very meandering. Its width varies from 200 to 300 yards (200 to 300 m), and its depth from 3 to 7 feet (1 to 2 m). Its ...Alabama River. Louise had confessed to the murder initially, but the confession was suppressed at trial. Both defendants were sentenced to life in prisonLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime, nominally for the entire remaining life of the prisoner, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time (usually 50 years) a prisoner may be incarcerated, or require the ...life in prison.

Less than a week after sentencing, Topsy was discovered alive and well, and residing less than twenty miles away. In July 1928, George and Louise were pardoned by the governor. The children then admitted that they had fabricated the story, at the behest of a man who had a grievance against George. It was never explained why they also had implicated Louise, or why she had confessed.