LI Amputee Pulled From Car, Beaten To Death In Robbery; West Babylon Man Indicted: DA

DEER PARK, NY — A West Babylon man was indicted on murder and robbery charges after prosecutors said he brutally attacked and robbed a 65-year-old Deer Park amputee before fleeing in the victim’s vehicle in December 2024.

Jason Butt-Champagne, 25, was indicted Thursday on charges including second-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the death of Donald Klune, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

According to prosecutors, Klune was sitting in his parked vehicle on Brook Avenue in Deer Park around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 11, 2024, when Butt-Champagne approached the car, forcibly pulled him out and beat and kicked him.

Prosecutors said Klune, who had only one leg, was unable to physically defend himself during the attack.

Tierney said Butt-Champagne stole Klune’s vehicle and left him in the roadway without his phone.

A good Samaritan later found Klune and called 911, prosecutors said. Klune was transported to South Shore University Hospital, where he died two days later from blunt force injuries, according to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office.

According to prosecutors, Suffolk County police officers canvassing the area on Dec. 12 located Klune’s stolen vehicle in a commercial parking lot in Deer Park.

While officers were securing the vehicle, Butt-Champagne was walking nearby when he was struck by a vehicle on Commack Road, prosecutors said.

Officers responding to that scene found Klune’s car keys near Butt-Champagne. Prosecutors said the keys were later confirmed to belong to the victim.

After what prosecutors described as a long-term investigation, Butt-Champagne was arrested on May 11,2026.

On Thursday, Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis arraigned Butt-Champagne on the indictment charging him with:

Second-degree murder, first-degree and second-degree robbery, second-degree assault and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

Butt-Champagne is represented by attorney Andrew Karpf, who declined to comment on the case pending discovery, but maintained Butt-Champagne's innocence.

Wilutis ordered Butt-Champagne held during the pendency of the case. Prosecutors said he faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the top count.

“This defendant allegedly brutally attacked Donald Klune and left him for dead on the side of the road for nothing more than his car,” Tierney said. “The Suffolk County Police Department never gave up in our pursuit of justice for Mr. Klune and his loved ones, and my office will continue to do so during this prosecution.”