A Spotsylvania jury convicted a man of second-degree murder in a teen’s death, Virginia received an overall “C” on a new infrastructure report card, Stafford County set its 25th-anniversary 9/11 ceremony, and ARTfactory will stage “Hairspray” at the Hylton Performing Arts Center.
Jury Convicts Spotsylvania Man of Second-Degree Murder in Teen’s Death
A Spotsylvania County jury convicted Tyler Butler of second-degree murder Thursday in the May 3, 2025, shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Bosworth, a Massaponax High School senior, the Fredericksburg Free Press reported. After a three-day trial in Circuit Court, the jury also found Butler guilty of attempted second-degree murder, malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. A charge of maliciously shooting at an occupied dwelling was reduced to unlawfully shooting after two other homes in the River Club subdivision were struck by gunfire.
Prosecutors said Bosworth and two lacrosse teammates, Andre’us Wilson and Braylon Richards, scaled Butler’s fence about 3 a.m. while trying to evade deputies after banging on a neighbor’s garage door roughly 600 feet away. Wilson, then 17, was shot in the back and survived; Richards was not hit. Butler fired 10 shots from his front yard. His attorney said he was terrified and home with his mother. The survivors testified they never struck Butler’s doors, and authorities said they found no damage supporting claims of an attempted break-in. Door-camera video captured Butler yelling profanities and racial slurs before firing, as his mother urged him to come inside.
Virginia Earns Overall C on 2026 Infrastructure Report Card
The Center Square reports that the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Virginia an overall C for infrastructure in its 2026 report card, with energy rated D and schools and wastewater at D+ despite billions of dollars in recent state and federal investment. Bridges and broadband received the highest marks at B+, solid waste a B, roads, public parks and stormwater C grades, and dams and transit C-.
About $12.6 billion from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act had gone to Virginia projects as of January 2025, and state road and bridge funding rose from $294 million in fiscal 2022 to $500 million in fiscal 2025. More than half of the state’s school buildings are over 50 years old, with estimated annual maintenance and capital shortfalls of $1.11 billion and $2.62 billion. Virginia has about 2,700 dams, most without current condition ratings and with rehabilitation needs estimated at $5.42 billion against a $5 million 2026 dam-safety grant program. Nearly 58% of bridges are more than 50 years old, and 1,443 bridges and culverts have load restrictions.
Stafford County to Hold 25th Anniversary 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
Stafford County announced it will mark 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks with a ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, outside the Stafford County Public Safety Building at 1225 Courthouse Road. Officials will pay tribute to the more than 3,000 people killed at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and honor first responders while teaching younger generations about the significance of that day.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Deuntay Diggs said the county honors the victims’ legacy each year and reaffirms that far more unites Americans than divides them. The program includes a five-toll bell-ringing ceremony, a tradition that once marked firefighters’ safe return to the station and is also used at funerals for fire and rescue personnel. Speakers will include Diggs, Fire and Rescue Chief Joseph Cardello and Sheriff David Decatur. Stafford County has held the annual observance since 2002.
ARTfactory’s Pied Piper Theatre Brings ‘Hairspray’ to Hylton Performing Arts Center
ARTfactory announced that its Pied Piper Theatre will present the Broadway musical “Hairspray” in the Gregory Family Theater at Hylton Performing Arts Center, with 7 p.m. performances Sept. 18, 19, 25 and 26 and 2 p.m. matinees Sept. 20 and 27. The Sept. 26 show is an understudy performance. Set in 1960s Baltimore, the production follows Tracy Turnblad, a teen determined to dance her way onto “The Corny Collins Show” while fighting for love and equality.
Tickets are available on ARTfactory’s website. The show is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International. Potomac Local News thanks ARTfactory, a newsroom partner, for sharing this announcement and for its partnership supporting local arts coverage in Prince William County.
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