After delaying his preliminary hearing to wait for the return of evidence sent to the state crime lab , Brian Burns made the decision to waive his preliminary hearing, meaning that the case against him will go to trial.
Burns, 56, is facing two counts of first degree murder, and one count of concealment of a body in connection with the death of his estranged wife, Carla Burns. He is accused of shooting his wife to death and burning her remains to conceal the homicide.
Speaking for Burns’, his lawyer, Nick Brown of Marion, said that after discussing the matter with Burns the defense decided to move on without the preliminary hearing. In a preliminary hearing, the state must present enough evidence to the judge to prove probable cause that Burns committed the crimes for which that he is accused.
In addition to waiving the preliminary hearing, a previous motion that Brown filed in court to lower Burns’ bond to $100,000 was denied by Judge Walden Morris. Brown argued that Burns was unable to raise the original amount, and that the high amount of money was “the same as imprisonment.”
Burns is being held on $10 million in bail, or a $1 million in bond.
Brown also said that his client would be open to remaining on house arrest, wearing an ankle monitor if he was able to meet bond and was released.
In response to the defense’s motion, Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Olson called Illinois State Police Investigator Special Agent Stacy Kinter to the stand to testify.
Kinter, who interrogated Burns multiple times after he was arrested, said that at many points during their interviews, Burns said that he had enough money to flee to the Cayman Islands, and that nobody would be able to find him.
Kinter testified that Burns also said, after being read his Miranda rights, that if he had killed his wife, he had enough money to flee the country, and that he would.
On a trip to an island in the Caribbean, Kinter said that Burns had talked to a local, where he learned that the island had no extradition policy with the United States. Before his arrest, Burns had also expressed a desire to go to Mississippi and New Orleans, allegedly intending to put up missing posters for Carla, Kinter testified.
Taking into account Kinter’s testimony, as well as the charges against Burns, Judge Morris ruled against changing Burns’ bond.
During the time in court, Morris also ruled in favor of the state’s motion to obtain DNA samples from Burns.
With his preliminary hearing waived, Burns will next appear in court on at 9 a.m. on June 24 for a pretrial hearing, which will take care of any outstanding motions or issues.
Barring any other matters, the trial against Brian Burns will begin at 9 a.m. on July 6 at the Saline County courthouse.
