Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Adrian Burks Sentenced to Life in 2009 KS Quadruple Murders

  1. #1
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217

    Adrian Burks Sentenced to Life in 2009 KS Quadruple Murders

    A district attorney Friday considered seeking the death penalty for a man charged with killing a toddler and three others at a Kansas City, Kansas-area home.

    Adrian Burks, 37, has been charged with four counts of first-degree premeditated murder, but prosecutors are now considering capital murder charges that could result in the death penalty if Burks is convicted, Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman said.

    Gorman said it could be a week before prosecutors decide whether to file new charges.

    Among the victims Burks is accused of killing is a mother and her 3-year-old daughter, police said.

    Peggy Castleberry, 41, and her daughter, Juanita Castleberry-Bess, were found shot Monday in a rural Kansas City-area home along with homeowner James Warren, 66, and Amanda Remmers, 21, police said in a statement.

    Burks is being held in the Wyandotte County, Kansas, jail with bail set at $2 million.

    Police apprehended Burks on Tuesday after a two-state car chase that began in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and ended in a crash in Kansas City, Kansas, Gorman said.

    Along with the premeditated murder charges, Burks also has been charged with felony fleeing and eluding.

    Police first suspected Burks after they discovered he had a relationship with one of the victims, Gorman said. Authorities didn't elaborate on what the relationship entailed and who it involved.

    Earlier Monday, before the slayings, one of the slaying victims saw Burks attack a man, Gorman said. Burks eventually was charged with aggravated battery in connection with the attack.

    Hours after the initial crime, prosecutors allege that Burks then went to the home of the four victims and killed them after he had a domestic dispute with one of them.

    "As far as a motive, obviously, domestic violence is the driving factor in this case," Gorman said Thursday.

    He said he was at a loss for a motive for the child's slaying.

    "Why a 3-year-old? ... One, we haven't got that far in that case, and two, I suppose when we get to that point, I still don't think we're going to have a satisfactory answer to why a 3-year-old was killed."

    At the time of the killings, Burks was out of jail on pretrial release in a separate case, Gorman said. Prosecutors in Johnson County, Kansas, had charged him with criminal threat and battery over an April incident

    http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/26/kansas.killings/index.html?section=cnn_latest

  2. #2
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Man faces death penalty in KCK murders

    A Wyandotte County District Judge ruled today that evidence supports capital murder and other charges against a man accused of four murders.

    After the ruling, County District Attorney Jerome Gorman immediately filed for the death penalty against Adrian Burks, 38.

    Burks pleaded not guilty and his attorney declined to comment.

    Gasps, sobs and curses rang out from family members during the preliminary hearing when Gorman told how their loved ones were shot repeatedly on June 22.

    Even 3-year-old Juanita Castleberry-Bess was shot six times, he said, and her mother, Peggy Castleberry, 41, was shot five times. Amanda Remmers, 21, was shot 11 times with eight of those in the back, he said.

    James Warren, 66, who was allowing the others to stay at his house at 5234 Muncie Drive in Kansas City, Kan., died with the others there from four bullet wounds.

    Police say the rampage was triggered by domestic violence because Burks was angry at Remmers.

    Judge Ernest Johnson ruled that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to support all charges against Burks, including an aggravated battery charge from earlier that day and a charge of fleeing police the next day.

    In closing arguments on the murder evidence, Gorman noted that two witnesses were parked in the driveway when Burks arrived at the house carrying a gun.

    He told them “they needed to get out of there,” Gorman said, and later called them and said, “don’t go back there — nothing is moving.”

    Another witness also saw Burks come out of the woods near there carrying a gun and then leave in his van, which he strategically parked so those at the house could not see him coming, the prosecutor said.

    All of that and the multiple gunshot wounds are evidence of planned murder, Gorman said.

    http://www.kansascity.com/679/story/1645981.html

  3. #3
    Moderator MRBAM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Capital Region NY
    Posts
    865
    KCK Man Pleads Guilty to Quadruple Homicide

    KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Kansas City, Kansas, man pleaded guilty on Monday to four counts of first-degree murder in connection to a 2009 quadruple homicide.

    Adrian Burks, 40, pleaded guilty in connection to the June 22, 2009, shooting deaths of 66-year-old James Warren, 21-year-old Amanda Remmers, 41-year-old Peggy Castleberry, Castleberry’s 3-year-old daughter, Juanita Castleberry-Bess.

    Burks was arrested shortly after the killings following a police chase that started in Kansas City, Missouri, and ended in Kansas City, Kansas.

    According to authorities, the guilty plea will allow Burks to escape a possible death-penalty sentence. Prosecutors say that they will ask for a life sentence with a hard 50 on each count – meaning that Burks would not be eligible for parole for at least 50 years.

    Sentencing is scheduled for October 1st.

    http://fox4kc.com/2012/08/27/kck-man...uple-homicide/

  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    2,740
    October 1, 2012

    KCK Man Sentenced to Life for Quadruple Homicide

    KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Kansas City, Kan., man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was sentenced on Monday for a 2009 quadruple homicide.

    Adrian Burks, 40, pleaded guilty to the June 22, 2009, homicide of Amanda Remmers, James Warren, Peggy Castleberry and Castleberry’s 3-year-old daughter, Juanita Castleberry-Bess, in a Kansas City, Kan., home.

    The guilty plea allowed Burks to escape the death penalty. At his sentencing, prosecutors asked for a life sentence with a “Hard 50″ on each count — meaning that he will be required to serve at least 50 years on each count, or 200 years, before he could be eligible for parole.

    After learning his fate, Burks showed no reaction, but the family of the victims said they’re still angry.

    “He could have burst into flames sitting in that courtroom. I could’ve smelled his flesh burning and it wouldn’t have made anyone feel any better,” said James Dobbs, brother of James Warren.

    Dobbs said he’s angry with the way Adrian Burks killed his brother. Warren owned a house on Muncie Drive in Kansas City, Kan., and opened it up to 21-year-old Amanda Remmers, Peggy Castleberry and her three-year-old daughter. Back in June of 2009, Burks came over to that house to confront Remmers, his former girlfriend, and he not only shot and killed her, but the other three as well. Police found the adults dead inside and the body of the three-year-old girl outside.

    “I find it remarkable that you take four lives and then you take a plea to save your own life, suddenly, now life has a value after you’ve taken four lives, including the life of a three-year-old child,” Dobbs said.

    Three months before the quadruple murder, Burks shot and killed Cynthia Matteson’s son, Johnny Lee Baer. Prosecutors, though, declined to file charges, saying Burks killed Baer in self-defense. Matteson joined the other victims families in court as the judge gave Burks four life sentences, or a minimum of 200 years.

    “Adrian Burks had no remorse, sat there with a smirk on his face,” said Matteson. “I guess he thinks this is a game, a game he played for life. Adrian Burks must have had the devil and the demons in him to do all this. Real people don’t do this.”

    Wyandotte County prosecutors said Burks is being investigated for a murder in California, and while they initially filed for the death penalty, they decided to agree to a plea deal, so the victims families wouldn’t have to go through the pain of a trial.

    http://fox4kc.com/2012/10/01/kck-man...uple-homicide/

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •