Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez: Where Are Michelle Renee’s Kidnappers Now?
As the episode of “48 Hours” on CBS titled “The Kidnapping of Michelle and Breea Renee” delves deeper and deeper into the event that rocked the foundation of the entire state of California, we are given a genuine understanding of the power that greed possesses.1
After all, it details how the titular mother-daughter duo was held captive inside their own home in San Diego County for almost 14 hours so that the latter could be pressured into robbing the bank where the former was employed.
But for the time being, if all you want to do is find out more about the two primary people who have been formally accused of orchestrating this terrible event, namely Christopher “Chris” Butler and Lisa Ramirez, we’ve got you covered.
Also Read: Where Is The Kidnapping Survivor Michelle Renee Now?
Table of Contents
Who Are Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez?
- After breaking into the Renee household in a violent manner late on the evening of November 21, 2000, three individuals wearing masks entered the home and overpowered Michelle, Breea, age seven, and a roommate until they were secured.
- They used duct tape to bind the three women, aimed guns directly at their heads while they were lying face down, and then strapped what turned out to be fake dynamite onto their bodies to incite fear.
- They did not reveal that they had been following the mother for some time because they knew she worked as an executive at the Bank of America branch in Vista until after this method of intimidation had been successful in its intended purpose.
- According to Michelle’s account from the first broadcast of the show on CBS, the three men told her unequivocally on that fateful Tuesday night that she would be robbing the bank on their behalf. “Either your daughter will pass away first, and then you will follow.”
- However, they were unaware of the fact that she had recognized the voice of the alleged leader, also known as Money One, as he communicated with their female lookout, also known as Money Two, on a walkie-talkie throughout the night.
- She had a sneaking suspicion that the man who had pretended to be a customer and handed her his card a few hours earlier was part of this pair, but she kept her suspicions to herself and pretended not to notice the woman who had taken him away.
- Because of this, when everything was said and done, Michelle complied with their instructions and stole $360,000 from the bank before it opened the following morning. She then contacted the authorities to report what had happened.
- The FBI was able to identify the leading duo as being none other than convicted felon Christopher Steven Butler and his fiancée Lisa Ramirez thanks to the business card that she had kept on her work desk all along.
- It is very important to note that the former had done what her attackers asked her to do out of fear for her daughter’s life, whereas Chris’ extensive criminal history is primarily connected with robbing banks only. Both of these facts are important to keep in mind.
Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez: Ten Days In To Custody
Chris and Lisa were consequently taken into custody ten days later at a traffic stop with the assistance of surveillance footage.
After their arrest, a check of their home and vehicle produced indisputable evidence of their involvement in the crime.
There was a BB gun that was identical to one of the weapons that Michelle had described, as well as the components necessary to manufacture the phony explosives, Michelle’s credit cards, and money strapped from the Bank of America.
The fact that the couple, along with her children, had been in Georgia for six days prior to purchasing round trip tickets on the day of their departure flight itself (November 23), did not help their situation at all.
Neither did the fact that they had bought the tickets on the day of their departure flight itself.
Despite this, Chris passionately disputed every accusation and supposition that was leveled against him during the course of his interrogation, all the while doing his utmost to shield his fiancée from the possibility of having her reputation damaged.
On the other side, it was stated that Lisa did not have any such reservations as she informed investigators that she was the one who had conceived of the overall scheme, but that both she and Chris had their portion of the money stolen days earlier.
She also made the bogus allegation that Michelle had been in on it from the very beginning, but the evidence and the mother’s account led some officials to not believe this allegation for even a second.
Also Read: Where Is kidnapping survivor “Breea Renee” Now?
Where Are Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez Now?
- The first time Chris and Lisa stood trial together was in June of 2002; however, the truth is that the defense’s strategies to portray Michelle as if she was the brutal perpetrator worked surprisingly well.
- The truth is that the defense was successful in portraying Michelle as the brutal perpetrator. They were in fact allowed to do this because a judge had determined that the full confession was inadmissible to the court due to the fact that it implicated more than just Lisa as a defendant without providing the appropriate context to the others.
- In addition, Chris testified that Michelle was his ex-girlfriend who had recruited him to carry out the master theft, which led to the jury reaching a verdict of not guilty despite deliberating for five days. This testimony caused the jury to reach a stalemate.
- However, the ultimate result was very different after Chris and Lisa’s retrial several months later. While Chris was found guilty because he was an active assailant, Lisa was found not guilty on all counts because her role in the crime was limited to that of a lookout.
- The convicted criminal was ultimately given a sentence of two consecutive life terms in addition to 52 years in prison for the charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping for robbery, two counts of kidnapping for ransom, first-degree robbery, and two counts of theft. All of these charges were brought against the convicted criminal.
- Christopher Huggins and Robert Ortiz, the other two men charged in connection with this incident, were each found guilty in their own individual trials.
- As a result, Chris is still behind bars in the minimum to medium-security Correctional Training Facility (formerly known as Soledad State Prison) in Soledad, California.
- He is now 47 years old. It is true that he was first eligible for parole in 2019, but he has already been denied it twice despite the fact that he recanted his false testimony against Michelle in early 2020; therefore, he will not be eligible for parole again until the year 2025.
- Lisa, on the other hand, has chosen to keep a low profile since since her name was finally exonerated in connection to this puzzling affair. She does not like the attention that comes with being in the public eye.
Also Read: Where Are Kidnapper Christopher Huggins and Robert Ortiz Now?
Michele Renee: Bank Robbery
Renee mentioned that she will never forget when they successfully carried out their plan in November of 2000. The group of individuals had been keeping an eye on her because they were aware that she was the manager of a local bank.
During the course of the 14-hour ordeal, Renee’s mother became aware of something about the ringleader that, had it been known earlier, could have helped spare both her and her daughter Breea from being taken hostage by the gunmen.
In an episode of 48 Hours that will appear on CBS News on Saturday night, Renee is quoted as saying that “sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago, and sometimes it feels like it was just last week.”
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Renee claimed that she lost sight of her kid when the gunmen pulled her to the floor with weapons in her face as they stormed into the house after months of following her. The break-in occurred after they had been following her.
She explained, “I heard my kid say, ‘are you going to kill my mommy, are you going to kill me?'”
“And they responded by saying, ‘no, not if your mama does everything that we instruct her to do.'”
Renee was able to raise her head off the ground long enough to see that her daughter was lying on the ground with duct tape wrapped around both her hands and feet.
Breea, according to what she said, was “down on her back with a gun to her head.”
