KDTR News - Transcripts From Eye Witness Audio-Interviews
2:35pm October 7th, 2010.
North West Corner of Maucker Union, University of Northern Iowa Campus, Cedar Falls Iowa.
Eyewitness Interview #1 - Jessica Crepp (sp?)
KDTR: Can you tell us what you just saw?
Jessica: He just stabbed her! Right in the gut!
KDTR: Who stabbed who?
Jessica: I don’t know some guy
KDTR: Do you know what he looked like?
Jessica: He had blondish longish hair, glasses, purple sweatshirt.
KDTR: what else can you tell us about him
Jessica: I don’t know
KDTR: Was he running? Walking?
Jessica: He sprinted that way (points West) He’s a fast little guy
KDTR: How tall do you think he was?
Jessica: About as tall as you (Points to KDRT’s TC )
KDTR: Which is how tall?
Jessica: How tall are you?
KDTR: 6’4
Jessica: ..about 6’4, kind of a skinnier little guy, he had a big sweatshirt on.
KDTR: Can you tell us more about what he was wearing
Jessica: Just jeans and a UNI sweatshirt, it was a zip-up
KDTR: Did anything happen before the incident?
Jessica: They were fighting over the papers, that are laying over the floor (points to crime scene)
KDTR: Was there a physical altercation prior to the stabbing?
Jessica: Maybe, I don’t know. They were fighting then he took out a knife from his bag and killed her.
KDTR: What did he do with the weapon?
Jessica: I think he still has it
KDTR: How are you feeling about the whole situation?
Jessica: Scared!
KDTR: Did he make threats to anyone else?
Jessica: Nah, he just took off running
Eye Witness Interview #2: – Aubrey
KDTR: What did you see?
Aubrey: Two people, you know just arguing and just kind of fighting then all of a sudden he just stabbed her! It was insane.
KDTR: What did the guy look like?
Aubrey: He actually uhh…I actually have a picture of him, not a very good one but that’s him right there (points to phone) Running away
KDTR: Can you describe what he looks like?
Aubrey: He had a little bit longer hair, not really short but maybe a few inches, shaggy, like a brown color. He had a purple? sweatshirt on, I think I can’t really see the picture very well.
KDTR: What other clothes was he wearing?
Aubrey: Just jeans
KDTR: How tall do you think he was?
Aubrey: Probably like 5’9ish, he was taller than she was, I don’t know how tall she is.
KDTR: Taller than you?
Aubrey: Probably yeah
KDTR: What ethnicity was he?
Aubrey: Caucasian. Probably 20-something (age)
KDTR: What happened before the stabbing?
Aubrey: Well when we walked over they were sitting on that bench right there, arguing with each other and he kept saying “show it to me, show it to me!” Like, they both had papers in their hands. Then he grabbed it from her, and looked at them and said “they’re both the same, they’re exactly the same!” and I didn’t hear anything she said, but then all of a sudden he reaches down to his backpack, pulls something out it was like a blue-ish color and shoved it right in her gut.
KDTR: what do you think the object was that he pulled out?
Aubrey: I have no idea, I really didn’t get that great of a look at it, he kind of had it shielded between himself when he turned around.
KDTR: Did he put it back in his bag or leave it there?
Aubrey: Oh he had it with him when he ran off, took off that way (points West) towards Aubrey: 3rd St market
KDTR: can you tell us anything else about it?
UNI Police Officer: Interview Over!
Eye Witness Interview #3 Claire Johannesen
KDTR: How you feeling?
Claire: I don’t know, a little shaky
KDTR: Can you tell us what you just saw?
Claire: I don’t know, I’m not supposed to talk to you guys, I was told not to.
KDTR: Who told you not to talk with us?
Claire: *whispers* police officers!
KDTR: Your choice, the other eye witnesses have
Claire: Well you know, Im real scared and I saw a man, wearing a purple hoody stab her (points) and you know, that was hard. And he ran off..
KDTR: Do you know why he stabbed her? Were they fighting?
Claire: They were fighting about the papers and I don’t really know why, something about them being the same
KDTR: Do they appear to have known each other?
Claire: Yes, they did. They were sitting close on the bench, then they stood up and he grabbed his knife out of his backpack and stabbed her and ran away.
KDTR: What did he do with the knife after he stabbed her?
Claire: Kept it in his hand, and was running with it in his hand….which is dangerous!
KDTR: Which direction was he running?
Claire: That way (points) he went between Aubrey: 3rd st and Bartlett, I sort of jogged after him but then I decided he was a little too far ahead of me, and I didn’t wanna catch him because he had a knife!
KDTR: You called 911?
Claire: No, I did not
KDTR: Did you see anything else? Was anyone else involved with it?
Claire: Uhhm, nope I don’t think so.
2:48pm UNI Police, on scene detectives, CSI Personnel and assistants declined to comment on the case or allow us to interview any members of their staff
Recently, we received a statement from the head prosecutor, Alyssa Nolte, involved with the stabbing that took place in September.
Noltle stated, "We have positively identified the victim as Brionna Sommers, age 18, a freshman at UNI. At this time we have no suspect in custody. We ask that the public respect the Sommers privacy at this difficult time."
Stunning allegations!
Breanna Marie Sommers a thief, a cheat and a bully?!?
As court proceedings unfolded on Tuesday December 07, shocking new details have emerged regarding the murder of Breanna Marie Sommers.
Defense counsel representing the defendant Blake Burns, claimed in opening statements that Burns may have acted in defense in regards to an altercation that took place over plagarism.
Sommers, a bright-eyed, happy-go-lucky student was just starting her new year at UNI and was making great marks in the grade book. However, new accusations have arisen that these may have been thanks to the hands of other students.
Sommers allegedly threatened Burns after finding out he would turn her in regarding his stolen academic work. Defense claiming "She'd come after (him)" if he told. Identical coursework was found at the crime scene, one with Burns' name on it leading detectives to him.
Burns, a freshman at UNI and an alleged honor student scored in the top 10% of his high school class. A 4.0 student that turned to murder to maintain this status. The defense is tight-lipped about proceedings but claims he acted in self defense; after all "(Burns)is only 6'0 and only 5 lbs heavier than (Breanna)."
Is Burns Competent to Stand Trial? A 4.0 student and I
"Defense Counsel to work "Personality Disorder" Angle
Previous sources claimed the Defense was seeking a 'self-defense' strategy but new information shows that Defense attorney Beth Siegel may be claiming Burns has a personality disorder.
Some may wonder how the same 4.0 Honors student is now being counseled under the insanity defense.
The Prosecution called Burns to testify on Tuesday, the Defense Counsel objected on 5th Amendment Grounds. Burns is scheduled to testify on Thursday.
"Defense Counsel to work "Personality Disorder" Angle
Previous sources claimed the Defense was seeking a 'self-defense' strategy but new information shows that Defense attorney Beth Siegel may be claiming Burns has a personality disorder.
Some may wonder how the same 4.0 Honors student is now being counseled under the insanity defense.
The Prosecution called Burns to testify on Tuesday, the Defense Counsel objected on 5th Amendment Grounds. Burns is scheduled to testify on Thursday.
Wikileaks, the popular non-profit media organization that publishes submissions of otherwise unavailable documents from anonymous news sources and leaks is set to release text messages that took place between Burns and Sommers weeks and maybe even months prior to the murder!
Chief spokesmen for Wikileaks, Julian Assange, recently turned himself in on unrelated charges and some wonder if the leaks will be out before Jury deliberations
BLAKE BURNS SIGNED CONFESSION!
Why was this not admitted into evidence?
Following Defense cross-examination on Thursday, KDTR acquired a photograph from a cellphone of what appears to be a signed confession (in prosecution's possession) from Burns dated November 16th 2010. Why did the prosecution submit this into evidence and if so, why was it not allowed to be revealed to the jury?
Transcribed text:
Bri and I were assigned to work on a class project together. At the end of the project we were supposed to write separate papers about the project. I wrote my own paper but Bri copied my paper word-for-word. This made me very angry, so I decided to (murder) her. I asked her to meet me in front of Maucker Union on October 7th at 2pm. I confronted her about the paper, and we got into an argument. I then stabbed her with a knife and fled the scene.
Blake Burns
11/16/10
The prosecution declined to comment. Stay tuned to KDTR for more information as it is available
Defense Counsel Beth Siegel comments on the Burns' Confession:
"The confession made by Blake Burns was coerced and was thrown out based on these grounds. Because of the undue pressure put on my client by the CFPD and its detectives, the details of the confession were falsified. The defense would like to remind the public that no one has tried to say that something tragic happened that day, we only ask that the people remember the whole tragic story. "
This raises important questions regarding interrogation techniques used by the CFPD. This also comes following accusations in court and on police blogs that "multiple errors" were made regarding evidence collection, witness preservation and CSI team response time.
Is Burns getting a fair trial based on these errors? Tell us what you think by signing in and commenting, we'd love to hear from you
Defendant testimony shows an increasingly aggressive Sommers leading up to her murder
Day 2 of Trial:
A calm and collected Burns sat through more cross examination on Thursday. Burns was expressionless even as Detective Harrison revealed details of the coroner's report and death details. Further defense examination by the Defense revealed significant errors in CFPD response time and evidence collection (including witness memory preservation).
Burns was called to testify and revealed during a very calm testimony the events that took place leading up to the murder. Burns claimed he and Sommers interacted little outside of working on their philosophy project. He also cited numerous times in which Sommers got aggressive and even violent with him after she learned he would go to the professor.
With academic careers on the line, Sommers allegedly text messaged Burns warning him to do his own paper. Sommers showed up to Burns' dorm in Campbell late one night and told Blake that if he made the wrong decision "(she) knew people that would come after (Blake)." Following these statements, Burns' roommate asked Sommers to exit the dormroom.
On the day Burns had planned on going to his professor he encountered Sommers and told her of his plan. According to Blake, "If I went she would kill me." Brianna reportedly became increasingly hostile and physically assaulted Burns before offering to show him the paper. Once Burns viewed the unaltered work, he became increasingly angry at Sommers at which point he stabbed her.
Conflicting eye-witness accounts however detailed no physical altercation prior to the stabbing, only a verbal argument.
The knife in question is indeed a salad knife similar to the one seen here: Salad Knife
One may wonder how a salad knife could penetrate human flesh. A soft, pliable material that would require enormous force to fatally penetrate a human being. Just how mad was Burns?
Defendant testimony shows an increasingly aggressive Sommers leading up to her murder
Day 2 of Trial:
A calm and collected Burns sat through more cross examination on Thursday. Burns was expressionless even as Detective Harrison revealed details of the coroner's report and death details. Further defense examination by the Defense revealed significant errors in CFPD response time and evidence collection (including witness memory preservation).
Burns was called to testify and revealed during a very calm testimony the events that took place leading up to the murder. Burns claimed he and Sommers interacted little outside of working on their philosophy project. He also cited numerous times in which Sommers got aggressive and even violent with him after she learned he would go to the professor.
With academic careers on the line, Sommers allegedly text messaged Burns warning him to do his own paper. Sommers showed up to Burns' dorm in Campbell late one night and told Blake that if he made the wrong decision "(she) knew people that would come after (Blake)." Following these statements, Burns' roommate asked Sommers to exit the dormroom.
On the day Burns had planned on going to his professor he encountered Sommers and told her of his plan. According to Blake, "If I went she would kill me." Brianna reportedly became increasingly hostile and physically assaulted Burns before offering to show him the paper. Once Burns viewed the unaltered work, he became increasingly angry at Sommers at which point he stabbed her.
Conflicting eye-witness accounts however detailed no physical altercation prior to the stabbing, only a verbal argument.
The knife in question is indeed a salad knife similar to the one seen here: Salad Knife
One may wonder how a salad knife could penetrate human flesh. A soft, pliable material that would require enormous force to fatally penetrate a human being. Just how mad was Burns?
Deliberation day is finally here! Today the jurors will make their decision. Is Blake Burns a murderer? Did he kill out of defense, or was it premeditated?
We will have updates shortly after today's court session.
After a brief jury deliberation on Wed, Burns sat quietly awaiting the verdict. A calm and collected Siegel stood by his side. The Prosecution team looked gathered and confident. The verdict came back 'guilty' beyond a reasonable doubt, of premeditated murder in the first degree.
Mixed feelings in the courtroom followed as the defendant shared his experiences throughout the trial experience.
The Sommers family looked relieved following the guilty verdict. "It will never bring (our) Brianna back, but it's a victory nonetheless. We're just glad to get this behind us," stated Sommer's father Timothy Sommers, comforting a very distraught wife.
Sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place sometime next month.
In time for Thursday's, please read the following link: http://www.psychologicalscience.com/kim_maclin/2010/01/i-learned-it-at-the-movies.html as well as the 3 resource links at the…
KDTR News - Transcripts From Eye Witness Audio-Interviews
2:35pm October 7th, 2010.
North West Corner of Maucker Union, University of Northern Iowa Campus, Cedar Falls Iowa.
Eyewitness Interview #1 - Jessica Crepp (sp?)
KDTR: Can you tell us what you just saw?
Jessica: He just stabbed her! Right in the gut!
KDTR: Who stabbed who?
Jessica: I don’t know some guy
KDTR: Do you know what he looked like?
Jessica: He had blondish longish hair, glasses, purple sweatshirt.
KDTR: what else can you tell us about him
Jessica: I don’t know
KDTR: Was he running? Walking?
Jessica: He sprinted that way (points West) He’s a fast little guy
KDTR: How tall do you think he was?
Jessica: About as tall as you (Points to KDRT’s TC )
KDTR: Which is how tall?
Jessica: How tall are you?
KDTR: 6’4
Jessica: ..about 6’4, kind of a skinnier little guy, he had a big sweatshirt on.
KDTR: Can you tell us more about what he was wearing
Jessica: Just jeans and a UNI sweatshirt, it was a zip-up
KDTR: Did anything happen before the incident?
Jessica: They were fighting over the papers, that are laying over the floor (points to crime scene)
KDTR: Was there a physical altercation prior to the stabbing?
Jessica: Maybe, I don’t know. They were fighting then he took out a knife from his bag and killed her.
KDTR: What did he do with the weapon?
Jessica: I think he still has it
KDTR: How are you feeling about the whole situation?
Jessica: Scared!
KDTR: Did he make threats to anyone else?
Jessica: Nah, he just took off running
Eye Witness Interview #2: – Aubrey
KDTR: What did you see?
Aubrey: Two people, you know just arguing and just kind of fighting then all of a sudden he just stabbed her! It was insane.
KDTR: What did the guy look like?
Aubrey: He actually uhh…I actually have a picture of him, not a very good one but that’s him right there (points to phone) Running away
KDTR: Can you describe what he looks like?
Aubrey: He had a little bit longer hair, not really short but maybe a few inches, shaggy, like a brown color. He had a purple? sweatshirt on, I think I can’t really see the picture very well.
KDTR: What other clothes was he wearing?
Aubrey: Just jeans
KDTR: How tall do you think he was?
Aubrey: Probably like 5’9ish, he was taller than she was, I don’t know how tall she is.
KDTR: Taller than you?
Aubrey: Probably yeah
KDTR: What ethnicity was he?
Aubrey: Caucasian. Probably 20-something (age)
KDTR: What happened before the stabbing?
Aubrey: Well when we walked over they were sitting on that bench right there, arguing with each other and he kept saying “show it to me, show it to me!” Like, they both had papers in their hands. Then he grabbed it from her, and looked at them and said “they’re both the same, they’re exactly the same!” and I didn’t hear anything she said, but then all of a sudden he reaches down to his backpack, pulls something out it was like a blue-ish color and shoved it right in her gut.
KDTR: what do you think the object was that he pulled out?
Aubrey: I have no idea, I really didn’t get that great of a look at it, he kind of had it shielded between himself when he turned around.
KDTR: Did he put it back in his bag or leave it there?
Aubrey: Oh he had it with him when he ran off, took off that way (points West) towards Aubrey: 3rd St market
KDTR: can you tell us anything else about it?
UNI Police Officer: Interview Over!
Eye Witness Interview #3 Claire Johannesen
KDTR: How you feeling?
Claire: I don’t know, a little shaky
KDTR: Can you tell us what you just saw?
Claire: I don’t know, I’m not supposed to talk to you guys, I was told not to.
KDTR: Who told you not to talk with us?
Claire: *whispers* police officers!
KDTR: Your choice, the other eye witnesses have
Claire: Well you know, Im real scared and I saw a man, wearing a purple hoody stab her (points) and you know, that was hard. And he ran off..
KDTR: Do you know why he stabbed her? Were they fighting?
Claire: They were fighting about the papers and I don’t really know why, something about them being the same
KDTR: Do they appear to have known each other?
Claire: Yes, they did. They were sitting close on the bench, then they stood up and he grabbed his knife out of his backpack and stabbed her and ran away.
KDTR: What did he do with the knife after he stabbed her?
Claire: Kept it in his hand, and was running with it in his hand….which is dangerous!
KDTR: Which direction was he running?
Claire: That way (points) he went between Aubrey: 3rd st and Bartlett, I sort of jogged after him but then I decided he was a little too far ahead of me, and I didn’t wanna catch him because he had a knife!
KDTR: You called 911?
Claire: No, I did not
KDTR: Did you see anything else? Was anyone else involved with it?
Claire: Uhhm, nope I don’t think so.
2:48pm UNI Police, on scene detectives, CSI Personnel and assistants declined to comment on the case or allow us to interview any members of their staff
Photos from the crime scene can be found here:
http://s1094.photobucket.com/albums/i456/daramead/
Recently, we received a statement from the head prosecutor, Alyssa Nolte, involved with the stabbing that took place in September.
Noltle stated, "We have positively identified the victim as Brionna Sommers, age 18, a freshman at UNI. At this time we have no suspect in custody. We ask that the public respect the Sommers privacy at this difficult time."
Stunning allegations!
Breanna Marie Sommers a thief, a cheat and a bully?!?
As court proceedings unfolded on Tuesday December 07, shocking new details have emerged regarding the murder of Breanna Marie Sommers.
Defense counsel representing the defendant Blake Burns, claimed in opening statements that Burns may have acted in defense in regards to an altercation that took place over plagarism.
Sommers, a bright-eyed, happy-go-lucky student was just starting her new year at UNI and was making great marks in the grade book. However, new accusations have arisen that these may have been thanks to the hands of other students.
Sommers allegedly threatened Burns after finding out he would turn her in regarding his stolen academic work. Defense claiming "She'd come after (him)" if he told. Identical coursework was found at the crime scene, one with Burns' name on it leading detectives to him.
Burns, a freshman at UNI and an alleged honor student scored in the top 10% of his high school class. A 4.0 student that turned to murder to maintain this status. The defense is tight-lipped about proceedings but claims he acted in self defense; after all "(Burns)is only 6'0 and only 5 lbs heavier than (Breanna)."
Is Burns Competent to Stand Trial? A 4.0 student and I
"Defense Counsel to work "Personality Disorder" Angle
Previous sources claimed the Defense was seeking a 'self-defense' strategy but new information shows that Defense attorney Beth Siegel may be claiming Burns has a personality disorder.
Some may wonder how the same 4.0 Honors student is now being counseled under the insanity defense.
The Prosecution called Burns to testify on Tuesday, the Defense Counsel objected on 5th Amendment Grounds. Burns is scheduled to testify on Thursday.
Is Burns Competent to Stand Trial?
A 4.0 student Unfit for Trial?
"Defense Counsel to work "Personality Disorder" Angle
Previous sources claimed the Defense was seeking a 'self-defense' strategy but new information shows that Defense attorney Beth Siegel may be claiming Burns has a personality disorder.
Some may wonder how the same 4.0 Honors student is now being counseled under the insanity defense.
The Prosecution called Burns to testify on Tuesday, the Defense Counsel objected on 5th Amendment Grounds. Burns is scheduled to testify on Thursday.
Wikileaks to Publish Sommers-Burns Text Log!
Wikileaks, the popular non-profit media organization that publishes submissions of otherwise unavailable documents from anonymous news sources and leaks is set to release text messages that took place between Burns and Sommers weeks and maybe even months prior to the murder!
Chief spokesmen for Wikileaks, Julian Assange, recently turned himself in on unrelated charges and some wonder if the leaks will be out before Jury deliberations
Photos from Trial Day 1 are available at this link:
http://s1094.photobucket.com/albums/i456/daramead/
Keep checking in for updates of this case on KDTR. We will have more news and photos following Trial Day 2.
BLAKE BURNS SIGNED CONFESSION!
Why was this not admitted into evidence?
Following Defense cross-examination on Thursday, KDTR acquired a photograph from a cellphone of what appears to be a signed confession (in prosecution's possession) from Burns dated November 16th 2010. Why did the prosecution submit this into evidence and if so, why was it not allowed to be revealed to the jury?
Photo:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31349319&l=5cef1b173e&id=1182630112
Transcribed text:
Bri and I were assigned to work on a class project together. At the end of the project we were supposed to write separate papers about the project. I wrote my own paper but Bri copied my paper word-for-word. This made me very angry, so I decided to (murder) her. I asked her to meet me in front of Maucker Union on October 7th at 2pm. I confronted her about the paper, and we got into an argument. I then stabbed her with a knife and fled the scene.
Blake Burns
11/16/10
The prosecution declined to comment. Stay tuned to KDTR for more information as it is available
Was Burns forced into signing a confession?
Defense Counsel Beth Siegel comments on the Burns' Confession:
"The confession made by Blake Burns was coerced and was thrown out based on these grounds. Because of the undue pressure put on my client by the CFPD and its detectives, the details of the confession were falsified. The defense would like to remind the public that no one has tried to say that something tragic happened that day, we only ask that the people remember the whole tragic story. "
This raises important questions regarding interrogation techniques used by the CFPD. This also comes following accusations in court and on police blogs that "multiple errors" were made regarding evidence collection, witness preservation and CSI team response time.
Is Burns getting a fair trial based on these errors? Tell us what you think by signing in and commenting, we'd love to hear from you
Burns felt "very threatened"
Defendant testimony shows an increasingly aggressive Sommers leading up to her murder
Day 2 of Trial:
A calm and collected Burns sat through more cross examination on Thursday. Burns was expressionless even as Detective Harrison revealed details of the coroner's report and death details. Further defense examination by the Defense revealed significant errors in CFPD response time and evidence collection (including witness memory preservation).
Burns was called to testify and revealed during a very calm testimony the events that took place leading up to the murder. Burns claimed he and Sommers interacted little outside of working on their philosophy project. He also cited numerous times in which Sommers got aggressive and even violent with him after she learned he would go to the professor.
With academic careers on the line, Sommers allegedly text messaged Burns warning him to do his own paper. Sommers showed up to Burns' dorm in Campbell late one night and told Blake that if he made the wrong decision "(she) knew people that would come after (Blake)." Following these statements, Burns' roommate asked Sommers to exit the dormroom.
On the day Burns had planned on going to his professor he encountered Sommers and told her of his plan. According to Blake, "If I went she would kill me." Brianna reportedly became increasingly hostile and physically assaulted Burns before offering to show him the paper. Once Burns viewed the unaltered work, he became increasingly angry at Sommers at which point he stabbed her.
Conflicting eye-witness accounts however detailed no physical altercation prior to the stabbing, only a verbal argument.
The knife in question is indeed a salad knife similar to the one seen here:
Salad Knife
One may wonder how a salad knife could penetrate human flesh. A soft, pliable material that would require enormous force to fatally penetrate a human being. Just how mad was Burns?
Burns felt "very threatened"
Defendant testimony shows an increasingly aggressive Sommers leading up to her murder
Day 2 of Trial:
A calm and collected Burns sat through more cross examination on Thursday. Burns was expressionless even as Detective Harrison revealed details of the coroner's report and death details. Further defense examination by the Defense revealed significant errors in CFPD response time and evidence collection (including witness memory preservation).
Burns was called to testify and revealed during a very calm testimony the events that took place leading up to the murder. Burns claimed he and Sommers interacted little outside of working on their philosophy project. He also cited numerous times in which Sommers got aggressive and even violent with him after she learned he would go to the professor.
With academic careers on the line, Sommers allegedly text messaged Burns warning him to do his own paper. Sommers showed up to Burns' dorm in Campbell late one night and told Blake that if he made the wrong decision "(she) knew people that would come after (Blake)." Following these statements, Burns' roommate asked Sommers to exit the dormroom.
On the day Burns had planned on going to his professor he encountered Sommers and told her of his plan. According to Blake, "If I went she would kill me." Brianna reportedly became increasingly hostile and physically assaulted Burns before offering to show him the paper. Once Burns viewed the unaltered work, he became increasingly angry at Sommers at which point he stabbed her.
Conflicting eye-witness accounts however detailed no physical altercation prior to the stabbing, only a verbal argument.
The knife in question is indeed a salad knife similar to the one seen here:
Salad Knife
One may wonder how a salad knife could penetrate human flesh. A soft, pliable material that would require enormous force to fatally penetrate a human being. Just how mad was Burns?
Photos from Trial Day 2 are available at this link:
http://s1094.photobucket.com/albums/i456/daramead/
Deliberation day is finally here! Today the jurors will make their decision. Is Blake Burns a murderer? Did he kill out of defense, or was it premeditated?
We will have updates shortly after today's court session.
Burns Goes Down For First Degree Murder
After a brief jury deliberation on Wed, Burns sat quietly awaiting the verdict. A calm and collected Siegel stood by his side. The Prosecution team looked gathered and confident. The verdict came back 'guilty' beyond a reasonable doubt, of premeditated murder in the first degree.
Mixed feelings in the courtroom followed as the defendant shared his experiences throughout the trial experience.
The Sommers family looked relieved following the guilty verdict. "It will never bring (our) Brianna back, but it's a victory nonetheless. We're just glad to get this behind us," stated Sommer's father Timothy Sommers, comforting a very distraught wife.
Sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place sometime next month.