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It was the night of Thursday, December 22, 2016, three short days from Christmas, when a man was collecting cans & discovered a young woman’s nearly nude body in an alleyway in St. Petersburg, Florida. The body was later identified as 22-year-old Taylor McAllister & sadly, her parents would go on to continue to fight to find justice for their beloved daughter.
Taylor McAllister as an outgoing, music-loving, kindhearted girl & her parents, Bill & Leslie, said that she was the type of person who, if you met her, you would instantly fall in love with her. She loved helping people & while in high school, she would never hesitate to stand up for kids getting bullied, taking them under her wing. She was exceptionally warm & even if you had only met her briefly, you could expect the biggest hug the next time you saw her.
Taylor was very close with her parents & had a very open & honest relationship with Bill & Leslie & in 2013, she told them she had experimented with drugs & began using drugs recreationally at age 18. At age 19, she met a man named James who was also a drug user & after only a few months, they were married in 2013. At this point, the newlyweds moved to Seattle, Washington, but after Taylor found out she was pregnant, she decided to move back home so she could be closer to her parents since James, who was in the Coast Guard, was scheduled to deploy overseas for a year.
Taylor had been sober throughout her pregnancy & in 2014, her life was getting back on track after she had given birth to twin girls. Sadly, she was prescribed Percocet after having a C-section, which led to her spiraling back into addiction which led Taylor down a path of self-destruction.
Bill & Leslie desperately tried to help their daughter get clean again & tried putting her in detox & rehab. They also tried “tough love” & had her in an almost lock-down status in their home & during this time, she was able to stay sober for about six months.
When Bill in Leslie learned of their daughter’s death, they were obviously devastated & described the feeling as “everything was moving in slow motion.”
At the time of Taylor’s death, she had been staying with an older man at his home in Palm Harbor, a little north of St. Petersburg, since August of 2016 & in this time, her drug use escalated & she began advertising herself on Backpage as an escort. According to Taylor’s friend, it was Taylor’s husband James who created her Backpage account & was sending her out on escort jobs. Taylor had told her friend that the decision was mutual & James wasn’t forcing her to do anything she wasn’t willing to do.
Right around Thanksgiving 2016, James went to rehab while Taylor continued to use drugs & advertise her services on Backpage. It was on Backpage that she met 52-year-old Robert Butler III who was the heir to a successful flooring company, Bob’s Carpet Mart & Flooring, which opened in 1969. He lived in the upscale neighborhood of Cobb’s Landing in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Butler’s past included run-ins with the law that involved drugs & violence. In 1992, he was convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm in a domestic violence incident with his ex-wife. He had multiple drug charges, another battery conviction in 2007 & was arrested for urinating on a table in a restaurant. He was also charged in a money laundering scheme & paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to his drug dealer, Deonte Baker to support his cocaine & marijuana addictions.
He typically purchased his drugs using checks which he wrote out to his dealer’s girlfriend from March 2013 to April 2016. In June 2016, the plea agreement indicates that Butler began writing checks to girlfriends which eventually totaled $140,490. Baker, the accused dealer, is facing federal drug charges.
After Butler met Taylor, his interest in her escalated into an obsession & he took her into his home, provided her with financial support as well as drugs. James revealed that Taylor had been living with Butler, who he only knew by his nickname “Bertie.” James was concerned with Butler’s drug use & the fact that Taylor had confided in him in regards to feeling fearful about her living situation. Taylor expressed intentions of leaving Butler, but struggled to go through with these plans.
On the night that Taylor’s body was found in an alley behind 63rd Avenue South, she was wearing only a gray t-shirt that had been pulled up to her neck, both of her arms were at her sides, her left leg was slightly bent & her right leg was straight out. There were marks on her left arm & leg which later proved to be tire tracks; someone had run her over as they left the scene. Her eyes were closed & her mouth was slightly open & ants were covering parts of her body.
Investigators began to canvass the area where she was found & then responded to Butler’s home in Palm Harbor. There, he told police that he had known Taylor for a couple of months after he had seen her Backpage advertisement for escort services & arranged a meeting where he paid her for sex. He said she came over to his house for sexual encounters but she did not live there. He told investigators that he hadn’t seen Taylor since Saturday, December 17, five days before her body was found. He was aware that Taylor was a drug addict who mainly used crack cocaine & Dilaudid, which is a powerful opioid pain medication. He said they rarely did drugs together.
According to Butler, on Wednesday, December 21, the day before Taylor’s body was found, he had woken up between 9 & 10 am & didn’t leave his house at all. His friend, Deonte Baker, had come over at around 11 am to borrow his white Toyota Tundra truck. As he spoke with investigators, they noted several minor scratches just above his forehead as well as the bridge of his nose & forearms. He also had a fresh bruise on his shoulder blade.
Butler was asked to provide a DNA sample & at this point, he requested to speak with a lawyer. Attorney Kevin Hayslett was currently representing him on a recent DUI case & Butler spoke with his attorney privately & then put Kevin on speakerphone. Kevin advised that his client would not be providing a DNA sample & requested that their interview be stopped.
Taylor’s friend Jane was a witness who was interviewed & indicated that Butler had become very jealous of their friendship & began limiting their contact. She also informed them that Taylor had moved into his home in the beginning of November & they began a sexual relationship. Jane painted a picture of a relationship filled with control, manipulation & fear. When Taylor moved in with Butler, the control only escalated; while Butler believed that their relationship was based on a twisted sort of love, Taylor’s involvement was based on her drug use. As time went on, Taylor was soon forbidden from seeing friends alone & remained under Butler’s watchful eye.
Jane indicated that at this point, she was only able to see Taylor when she accompanied a drug dealer referred to as “Smiley” who delivered drugs to Butler’s home. While Smiley & Butler conducted their “business” on the driveway, Jane would ask to use the restroom & try to convince Taylor to leave with them. She said that Butler, who she also knew as “Bertie” & Taylor lived like hermits & rarely ever left the house.
Jane felt that because of the extreme isolation, Taylor’s behavior had noticeably shifted & she grew fearful of upsetting Butler in any way.
On Friday, December 23, 2016, one day after Taylor’s body was found, Deonte Baker, Butler’s drug dealer, voluntarily came into the station to speak with police. When he was shown a picture of Butler, he identified him as “Bert.” When he was shown a photo of Taylor, he was able to positively identify her as Taylor & stated that he himself had been recently staying at the house with Butler & Taylor, but had been choosing to stay away because Butler was bringing people into the house that he didn’t trust.
Baker confirmed that Butler had met Taylor through her Backpage ad & that she had been living at his home for the past couple of months. He frequently brought drugs to the house for Butler & Taylor which included crack cocaine & marijuana & that Taylor was also using Dilaudid, but he didn’t have access to that drug, so Taylor was using other dealers as well.
When Baker was asked about his recent ongoings, he gave several inconsistent accounts between his whereabouts from when he woke up Wednesday December 21 until he visited Butler on Thursday, the 22nd. When he was questioned about these inconsistencies, he said that he didn’t remember anything from the afternoon of the 21st until he went to Butler’s house at about 11 am on the 22nd. He said that a man named Quran Archer had driven him over on the 22nd so he could borrow Butler’s truck.
Baker said that after he borrowed the truck, he & Archer planned to go to Walmart to buy some bikes for Christmas presents, but because Archer complained about the dog smell in the truck, they stopped off to have it washed & didn’t end up picking it up until 6 pm when they headed back to Butler’s house. When they arrived, he said that Butler told them about Taylor’s death & the fact that the police had been to his home.
Quran Archer came to the police station for an interview & indicated that he had met Butler through Baker three to four months earlier. He said he & Baker had been friends for the past 6-7 years & he had been working as a driver for him for the past 3-4 months; he drove Baker & his girlfriends around in one of Baker’s cars while he conducted his drug deals.
Archer indicated that other than seeing Taylor at Butler’s home a few times, he did not know her. Unlike Baker, who had been unable to remember his whereabouts, Baker was able to tell detectives exactly what he had done between December 21-22, 2016.
He indicated that he had spent the entire day Tuesday, December 21, working for Baker, driving him around throughout that day & into the early hours of Thursday, December 22, the day that Taylor’s body was discovered. He gave all of the exact details of his whereabouts to police during his interview.
According to Archer, on Thursday, December 22, he woke up at 7 am & took his girlfriend to work & dropped her daughter off at school. From there, he went & hung out with friends until about 11 am when Baker called him & wanted to go Christmas shopping. He picked him up from the Comfort Inn at about 11:20 am & they went straight to Butler’s house to borrow his truck. They talked with Butler for about twenty minutes at his house & during that time, they only saw him & his dog, not Taylor.
Archer indicated that he drove Baker’s Dodge Challenger while Baker drove Butler’s truck when they left the house. They stopped at an apartment complex near Gandy Boulevard & left the Challenger there. They took the truck to Walmart in South St Pete, bought two girls’ bikes & dropped them off at a home in Childs Park. After, he drove Baker to Walgreens & Baker left with an unknown girl at about 3 pm.
Archer drove Butler’s truck to a carwash at Central Avenue & 28th Street to have it detailed. Kelly, one of Baker’s girlfriends, picked him up in her Mercedes & brought him to her work. He left Kelly & drove the Mercedes to Bethel Heights where he stayed from 4:15 pm to 5 pm. He then picked his girlfriend, Tiffany, & her child up from work & school.
Archer said that eventually, he & Baker picked up the truck from the detailing shop & they returned it to Butler’s house. He said that he, Tiffany, her child & a man named Anthony Sullivan, AKA, “Coach” all went to Butler’s as well & they all stayed for a little while. When they left, he & “Coach” left in the truck while Baker, Tiffany & her child left in Baker’s Challenger.
During the investigation, authorities also interviewed a woman named Mary who was one of Deonte Baker’s girlfriends. She owns a BMW & a white Dodge Challenger which she allows Deonte Baker & his driver, Archer to use. She told investigators that on Thursday, December 22, she drove her BMW to Robert Butler’s house to clean, which she did every month or so.
When she arrived, she said that an older black male named “Coach” was there & she was surprised to see that he was already cleaning the house. She said “Coach” often does odds & ends for Butler, but he normally doesn’t help her clean.
Mary said that the entire time she was there, Butler was sleeping on the couch in the living room while “Coach” was mopping the kitchen, bathroom & bedroom floors while she cleaned the bathroom & bedroom. She noticed nothing unusual while cleaning & she did not recall seeing a black purse in the bedroom. When Mary left Butler’s home at 1 pm, he was still asleep on the couch.
During her interview, the police noted that Mary was very nervous in appearance, shaking & crying throughout most of her questioning. On several occasions, she denied any knowledge that Taylor McAllister had died at Butler’s home. She provided police a sample of her DNA & allowed them to search her black BMW that she allowed Deonte Baker to drive at times. Nothing of value was noted inside the car.
Deonte Baker was asked to take part in a controlled phone call to Butler & during their conversation, he told Butler that he needed to know what happened to Taylor. At this point, Butler told Baker that he needed to come to his house so he could tell him in person.
When he ended the call with Butler, Baker continued to speak with detectives & suddenly changed his story. He indicated that Butler had called him & told him to come to his house on the 21st. When he & Archer arrived, Butler told them that Taylor had overdosed. At this point, Baker saw Taylor in Butler’s bed & she was clearly out of it.
Archer was telling Butler to call 911, but he refused. Baker told police that he got Archer to help him take Taylor to the hospital & she was placed in the backseat of Butler’s truck as Archer drove. He followed in the BMW, but Archer began speeding & he eventually lost sight of the car. When Archer called Baker, he told them that Taylor was gone, meaning deceased. Archer told him that they, as black men, could not take a dead, naked, white girl to the hospital so he called Butler & told him that they had to bring Taylor’s body back to his house but he refused. Baker indicated that Archer panicked & took off with Taylor & Baker wasn’t able to reach him until after Archer had placed Taylor’s body in the alley where it was ultimately found.
Upon this information, police contacted Archer & he was instructed to come back to the station. He eventually made a statement that was consistent with the statement provided by Baker & said that he was driving by himself with Taylor’s body when he noticed the alleyway. He pulled Taylor’s body out of the truck & left her there. He then drove the truck back to Butler’s house & his sister picked him up.
On March 28, 2017, cell phones belonging to Butler, Baker & Archer were analyzed & maps showed that Butler’s phone did not leave his home during this incident, but Baker & Archer’s phones traveled together almost all day on Wednesday, the 21st which was consistent with Archer’s reports.
At approximately 7:25 pm on the 21st, which was the day before Taylor’s body was found in the alley, both phones left Butler’s home & traveled to St Pete & between 8:40-8:51 pm, both phones were in the area where Taylor’s body was located. They returned to Butler’s home shortly after 9:20 pm. At approximately 11:18 pm, Baker’s phone left Butler’s home & returned to St Pete. Archer’s last ping was at Butler’s home at approximately 10:37 pm & pinged in north St. Pete at approximately 11:44 pm.
At 12:04 am on Thursday, December 22, Baker’s phone was in the area where Taylor’s body was located while Archer’s phone continued to head southbound & he did not receive any calls or texts after 12:06 am on the 22nd. By 12:33 am, both phones appeared to be together again in north St. Pete.
It eventually came to light that Taylor had died in the backseat of Butler’s truck & Archer called Baker & the two met up. Archer did not panic & take off with the body as he told police earlier & instead, the men discussed their plan.
Archer suggested finding a secluded spot to bury Taylor’s body so she would never be found, but Baker disagreed since he said he knew & liked Taylor & wanted her body to be found. He made a statement saying that she “deserved better.” So they both left her body in the alleyway where she was eventually found. They then returned to Butler’s house & made steps to conceal what they had done.
Archer purchased lighter fluid & their clothes were burned in Butler’s fireplace. They also burned items removed from Butler’s truck & the items Taylor owned within Butler’s home. They physically removed information from the security system that was installed in Butler’s home & the next day, Butler’s truck was detailed.
Taylor’s autopsy indicated that there was petechiae of the eyelids & periorbital skin as well as the mucosa of her mouth. There were areas of bleeding & abrasions in her mouth as well as her head & neck. There were abrasions found on her torso, chest, right breast as well as multiple bruises. Her cause of death was determined to be asphyxia with contributing factors from acute on chronic drug abuse. Her manner of death was listed as homicide.
Male DNA was found on Taylor’s body & DNA from her neck & under her fingernails matched Robert Butler. When a warrant was served, Butler had been forced to provide his DNA. Findings of DNA on her body were explained away by the fact that she was living with him at the time. A white substance was found on Taylor’s arms & cheek which was consistent with an adhesive material.
In December 2017, one year after Taylor’s death, Butler was charged with failure to report a death, felony possession of ammunition as well as marijuana which came after his house was searched. Baker & Archer were also charged with failure to report a death, but no murder charges were filed despite the fact that Taylor’s manner of death was determined to be homicide.
Investigators indicate that they do not know where or when she died, who was responsible & if there was intent to kill. Taylor’s body was in poor health from drug use; she had hepatitis, kidney failure & bacterial growth on her heart valves from the use of dirty needles. She also had abscesses in her lungs & suffered a stroke.
Throughout Taylor’s investigation, Butler, Archer & Baker were involved in a federal trial for money laundering. While in jail, Taylor’s mom Leslie visited Deonte Baker & their visit was video recorded. She begged him to tell her what happened to Taylor on the night she died. Baker claimed that he was not aware of what happened to Taylor before he found her unresponsive in bed.
He admitted to disposing her body & even running over her legs as he sped away. Archer pleaded guilty & was sentenced to 6 months in jail & $850 in court costs. Baker pled no contest & was sentenced to 364 days in prison with credit for 343 days already served plus $450 in court costs. Butler pleaded guilty & was sentenced to 36 days in jail with one day credit for time served & $450 in court costs. Bill & Leslie were disgusted with their short sentences & just how easy it was for someone to get away with murder.
The St. Pete Police Department has indicated that Taylor’s case is cold & will not be investigated further. However, once a year, on the anniversary of her death, it will be reviewed but without new information, there is nothing they can do.
Leslie recalls that she had to make funeral arrangements for their daughter on Christmas Eve & then go home & wrap presents for her other four children. Taylor was the second oldest & during her funeral, their 5-year-old asked how they got a statue of Taylor into the casket. They refer to Butler as a “virus” & a “monster.”
Bill & Leslie live in anguish over Taylor’s unsolved murder & tragically, lost another daughter several years ago. They continue to search for answers & appear on news stations, talk shows & podcasts to keep their daughter’s story alive. They want everyone to know that their daughter loved life, was an amazing person & drugs do not define her. The family is holding out hope that one day someone will come forward with information that allows the case to reopen so they can find the person responsible for her death.
Leslie & Bill want to be sure that Taylor’s twin daughters, who will never get to know who their mother was, will one day know that her killer has been found & held responsible for their actions.
If you have any information about the unsolved murder of Taylor McAllister, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS. You can remain anonymous & may be eligible for a reward.
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