- 1 week ago
Accident, Suicide or Murder - Season 6 Episode 5 -
Left To Unrest
Left To Unrest
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00a devoted family man makes an unsettling discovery normally his wife would have been
00:13up when he got home but he couldn't get her to wake up EMS try to revive Diana girl but no
00:22success she is pronounced dead at the scene that morning I got a call is my dad he said
00:30you need to come to the house your mom is is dead but in this small town rumors don't stay buried
00:37for long the boroughs are well known in the community I said tell me he did I mean he
00:44would just be crying yes mama he told me he did sometimes rumors are true he made me feel kind
00:51uneasy because we assumed that she had died of natural causes she's buried I want to get past
00:57this this is my word no I ain't doing no homicide assuming the body was not an easy task I couldn't
01:06believe it are they going to pull her body out of the ground and find something I didn't think so
01:10was this a cruel twist of fate or the perfect cover for murder I thought she had died peacefully but I
01:19think it was peaceful at all on a Friday in March of 2011 a call came in to the St. Paul's Police
01:45Department where a man was reporting that his wife was unresponsive that he could not wake her
01:51my main function was to investigate all crimes inside of the town so I rushed on over to the
01:58residence when officer Sego arrives the scene immediately feels different after nearly a decade
02:07protecting this town these aren't strangers they're people he's known for years when I walked up to the
02:14front door Miss Diane Burrow was laying on the floor 63 years of age and Steve Burrow which was
02:22the husband was trying to do CPR Steve was 57 at the time it's a small town so I knew both of the Burrows
02:32they had been living there for a long time at that time the EMS from St. Paul's arrive on the scene
02:39I'm noticing Steve Burrow is very frantic he's very upset he's very shaking he doesn't know exactly
02:48what happened to his wife he stated several times that she has some medical conditions I'm looking at
02:56her as the medical team or trying to resuscitate her and if she's laying on the floor you can see that
03:03she has a small cut to her left upper eye above her eyebrow that kind of raises my suspicion quite a bit
03:15EMS tried to revive Diana Burrow but no success she is pronounced dead at the scene
03:23I'm thinking of what might have happened it could be foul play it's someone coming to the house or did
03:38something happen where she had a fall or was it her husband Steve you have to look at everything I
03:48speak with mr. Steve Burrow in depth he stated that he worked night shift he had been working up in
03:55Fayetteville about 30 plus minutes up the road working the night shift as a clerk up there to one of the
04:00hotels he had just got home from work came home around 7 a.m. in the morning that's when he noticed
04:08that his wife was sleeping on the couch normally his wife would have been up when he got home but she was
04:14just laid in a very relaxable peaceful state with a blanket over and that's when he noticed that she
04:18was cold then he could not revive her he couldn't get her to to wake up mr. Burrow then called 911 and
04:27the 911 dispatcher advised mr. Burrow to do chest compressions on her that's when I arrived I asked mr.
04:39Steve Burrow who had done that scratch to the top of her head he had responded by saying that his wife had
04:47had some health conditions she had heart related issues there were some pain issues as she was having
04:53with joints she had been on a number of medications I mean she had been pretty unsteady at times she had fallen
05:00several times it could have been her falling hitting something I said did she have it last night and he says I
05:07don't remember police lean toward believing the cut on Diana's head came from a fall brought on by her failing
05:16health but they continue searching the home looking for any other signs of foul play we look around the house and the
05:21we look around the house look around the property they found absolutely nothing the only thing that was
05:28noticed was that abrasion above her left eye usually when you have something such as domestic violence that
05:34one abrasion you're gonna also see maybe some other signs you're gonna see some disarray so there was
05:40nothing else there and there's absolutely no prior reports of domestic violence involving mr. and mrs.
05:48burrow you always have to consider the husband but looking at steve burrow with him being so upset and
05:57being very distraught at the time when he finds his wife you can pretty much tell people that are playing
06:06the part instead of being what they really are but suspicions linger if not foul play then what
06:15steve advised me that she's on several medications he shows me a few of the medications that she was
06:23taking at that time they looked into the possibility she took in an overdose of the medication maybe this
06:28was an attempt on her part to just go ahead and end her life because of the multiple issues she had
06:34steve said that there was no way that she would commit suicide everybody not only within the family but
06:42other people in the community supported the fact that she was very happy the burrows they were well
06:48known in the community i have been over at the house several times just speaking in general diana
06:55always helped other people no matter what she was a good christian lady she had still been active
07:02out helping people she did not seem to be any different in her behavior so there was no red flag there either
07:09this beloved wife and mother of three is gone her death leaving behind a broken family including her 37 year old son ronald
07:16that morning i got a call it was my dad he said you need to come to the house your mom is dead so i get out of there and the cops are there and um she's laying on the floor
07:21it was unreal i mean it was really unreal and probably five minutes after that my sisters tifton crystal come over they were really distraught but we thought it was just a lot of
07:28she died peacefully
07:30mom's name was patricia most people come to the house your mom to the house your mom is dead so i get out of there and the cops are there and um
07:35she's laying on the floor it was unreal i mean it was really unreal
07:40and probably five minutes after that my sisters tifton crystal come over they were really distraught
07:49but we thought she died peacefully
07:52mom's name was patricia most people called her diane or diana
08:00mom and dad met when dad was going to school they were married right before i was born in 73
08:08we moved to saint paul's my kindergarten year of elementary school which was 79
08:15then tifton was born four years later crystal was born four years after that
08:19by all accounts it was a happy marriage and raised three children uh lived you know mind their own business
08:25people that looked out for their neighbors and people knew and liked
08:32dad was going a lot he worked full time went to school full time so really growing up you didn't see
08:39dad a lot other than sundays so mom but she took care of everything on the home front
08:48her father had passed away he was fairly young
08:52he died of a heart attack and was in fairly good health up until the day he died
08:57so based off her health we thought it was heart disease or a heart attack
09:02we just thought it was natural causes
09:10preliminary investigation revealed that miss burrow had extensive medical problems and issues
09:16of course
09:19steve said no autopsy would be done so heart disease is what they ruled her death as
09:23if an autopsy was not completed it's not always looked at
09:29when you have somebody with medical condition
09:32they've got a long history
09:34it's really easy to just write it off as just a medical situation
09:38oftentimes the doctor will sign off on it
09:41law enforcement determined to be natural causes
09:44so it was closed out at that point
09:46there was nothing else more done
09:48and we just started preparing for a funeral
09:51two days later the community gathers to say goodbye
09:56the church was packed that day
10:00to see the outpouring of support from the community
10:03at her funeral
10:05I didn't expect that many people to be there
10:08at the funeral
10:11I really hadn't grieved any
10:13until I heard my nephew behind me
10:16he started crying
10:20and that's when I lost
10:21your emotions
10:26yeah
10:28and then
10:35life went on
10:40nearly two weeks pass after Diana's apparent natural death
10:44before a terrifying rumor is brought to police
10:48on March 22nd
10:50a local mail carrier comes forward with some very interesting information
10:53that really does turn the death of Miss Burrows
10:56in a completely different direction
11:02these items were stolen
11:04out of this
11:05Diane's Burrows house
11:06let's talk about you possibly harming Diane
11:09all I want to know
11:11can you help me man
11:12sounds like a fantastic story
11:14it sounds almost too good to believe
11:26two weeks after Diana Burrow dies
11:33the local mail carrier delivers a shocking rumor
11:37the mail carrier delivers in the area
11:41not only of where Mr. and Mrs. Burrows lived
11:44but also in the surrounding area as well
11:47the mail carrier relays to the police department that
11:50she's heard a rumor that Miss Diana was actually smothered
11:55she had no many more details other than that
11:57but she said that is a rumor out there
11:59as much as anyone knows living in small communities
12:03rumors fly about everything
12:05rumors are always a part of an investigation
12:09it can come apart
12:11but sometimes rumors are true
12:13and so I made it a point that I was going to investigate
12:16to figure out who would want to hurt Miss Diana
12:19a large hurdle stands in the way of a proper investigation
12:23the difficulty that presents to law enforcement
12:26is no autopsy was performed
12:29they didn't do any type of crime scene work
12:31things such as photographs, swabs, samples
12:35so law enforcement decides they need to follow up
12:38on every avenue and every possible path
12:41police start by looking at Diana's husband, Steve Burrow
12:45you always look at the family members
12:48and you always look at the closest person to Miss Diana
12:54but Steve was quickie clean
12:57he had nothing in his background
12:59no history of violent crime nor domestic violence
13:03police look closer at Steve's alibi for the evening
13:07Steve was a clerk at a motel
13:09he stated that he worked night shift
13:12so I went to his workplace
13:15spoke with the supervisor
13:17where they advised that he was at work
13:20that he had been there
13:21so it ruled him out
13:23so you look at the grandchildren
13:25you look at the son
13:27you look at the daughters
13:28all of them had been ruled out
13:31at that time
13:33everybody had an alibi
13:35everybody was somewhere else that was verified
13:37the investigators did look into her life insurance policies
13:42and there was nobody going to gain financially on her death
13:46Steve had no motive whatsoever
13:50police felt comfortable at that point clearing Mr. Burrow
13:53as well as any other members of the family
13:55at that time my daughter said
14:00are they thinking you had something to do with mama's death
14:03it kind of made me feel kind of uneasy
14:06because first I knew I hadn't done anything
14:10and secondly we assumed that she had died of natural causes
14:14she buried I want to get past this
14:18she was well liked
14:20she didn't make any enemies
14:23the father's thing from my mind was that someone had killed her
14:27after police complete a canvas of the neighborhood around the home
14:31and question Diana's friends
14:33they find the rumors regarding the beloved neighbor and mother go nowhere
14:37until two and a half weeks after Diana's death
14:42when another 911 call comes in from the Burrow house
14:46I was on the road so I respond to a breaking and entering at Mr. Burrow's house
14:52when I arrive on the scene Steve was very upset
14:57he was going through a lot
15:00we start speaking
15:02and Mr. Burrow explains to me he had just come home from night shift
15:07when I came in the house
15:09the first thing I noticed was a cabinet was open
15:12and I knew that I never opened that cabinet
15:14and then I started looking around
15:17and I seen her wedding ring was stolen
15:20her mother's ring was stolen
15:21her cell phone was missing
15:23and her medication
15:25macaroni and cheese also
15:28out of the refrigerator
15:29I start looking at how the person came into the residence
15:35walked around from the back of the house
15:38the grass hindered any kind of footprints
15:41all of his windows had screens on them
15:44except one
15:46the screen was taken off from it
15:48the person gained entry into the home through a rear window in the bedroom
15:54that screen was found after a neighbor commented to one of the police officers at some point
16:00that she had found a screen beside her house
16:02but they did not find any forensic information in the area that is helpful for the case
16:09Steve mentioned that the screen was possibly missing the time that Miss Diane had been found deceased
16:17I knew the screen was missing because my daughter and my daughter-in-law was talking to each other through the window on that Monday and the screen was missing then
16:25but I still didn't put anything together
16:30at this time I'm thinking what's going on here
16:33it could have been two separate items that had occurred
16:37but as a detective you look at every aspect from the break-in and her death to see if it was correlated
16:46why is this happening you know my wife died my house gets broken into you know what else is going to happen
16:53just hours later a violent incident close to the borough home forces detectives to rethink everything
17:01ironically on the same day that Steve reports the break-in at his house
17:04another 9-1-1 call comes in reporting two men fighting in the neighborhood around the borough home
17:11as I arrive I see two men in the front of the house
17:15it's Daniel Johnson he's 27 years of age
17:19and his brother Jason Johnson 28 years of age
17:24they live at the residence
17:27Daniel Johnson and Jason Johnson are very well known to the St. Paul's Police Department
17:33they were well known for stealing anything
17:36honestly if it wasn't nailed down
17:38Johnson boys were gonna steal it
17:41at that time I see Daniel Johnson punches Jason Johnson
17:46and he starts running into the house as he sees me going after him
17:50I was able to get the suspect in custody
17:53then at the patrol car after patting Daniel down
17:56I reached into his pocket and found a pill bottle with Diana Burroughs name on it
18:01police in North Carolina have just witnessed Daniel Johnson assault his brother Jason
18:14after placing Daniel in cuffs
18:16they discover items connected to his deceased neighbor Diana Burroughs
18:29in his front pants pocket is found a pill bottle with the name Patricia Diana Burroughs
18:33he also dropped a ring and he had a cell phone in his hand
18:44these items were the exact same things recently reported stolen out of this Diana Burroughs house
18:51so the first thing I'm thinking of is that Daniel is the suspect that broke into this residence
18:59Daniel is also the one who Officer Segoe observes hit Jason
19:04and because of that Daniel is taken into custody
19:07and his brother Jason is free to leave at that point
19:09Daniel was charged with breaking and entering
19:12larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen property
19:16he is also charged with the assault on Jason Johnson
19:19my mindset is that he is just broken into this house
19:24but I'm looking at every avenue that came about in that case
19:29maybe this was a connection with the rumors that were going around about what happened to Miss Diana
19:36as a result of the arrest of Daniel Johnson
19:41law enforcement contacts Steve and tells them that they want him to come down and to look at some things
19:47we identify some of the items that was stolen
19:51at that time we knew that Daniel and Jason was known for breaking and entering
19:57they'd been in trouble so many times we figured it wasn't going to be a whole lot done about it
20:02Daniel and Jason they lived next to us since they were young boys and they had been in trouble from a very young age
20:13Diane was very kind she would do anything for anybody she could she would give him some money to buy food with
20:19she would help out even Daniel and Jason's mom
20:23Jason was always very polite to us Daniel kept much to himself
20:28mom she would refer to Daniel and Jason as them boys
20:33them boys did this or them boys did that
20:37they didn't have a lot but she tried to help out
20:40giving her cell phone all the time
20:43I'd go down there and she'd be like
20:45I gotta get my cell phone back from them boys
20:47I said who's got your cell phone?
20:48she said Jason and Daniel I let them use it they brought it back
20:49I said do you want me to go get it? she said no I'll get it I'll get it later on it's fine
21:02my mom she was always nice to them
21:07never said anything bad about Daniel and Jason
21:11to find out that one of these kids has my mom's jewelry
21:14and a pill bottle of hers I couldn't believe it
21:20we learned Daniel and Jason Johnson would always come by the house
21:26and Diana would give them money she would give them food
21:30any link between the boys next door and the rumors about Diana's death seems far-fetched
21:36still police sit down with Daniel for a formal interview intent on learning why he would steal from a neighbor who had shown him nothing but kindness
21:47Daniel was asked the reason why the fight occurred and he stated that Jason had ripped a chain off his girlfriend's neck and that's where the fight occurred
21:57I asked where he got these items but he would never tell me exactly where all the items came from
22:08with Daniel refusing to talk all police can point to are a series of unsettling coincidences involving the Burrow family
22:16but just a day later an unlikely person steps forward with information that could link the recent incidents
22:24another interesting twist comes into this investigation when Daniel and Jason's mother Melinda Harding shows up at the police department
22:34she comes in real cordial polite
22:38I could tell that she had a lot on her mind
22:40she said that she was the mother of these two young men who often times got into trouble
22:44and she said she just had some stuff that was heavy on her heart
22:49she wasn't sure if it was true or not but she has information on her son
22:55no dying for years many years
22:59I was really really upset about the whole situation and
23:03well one night Daniel got to drinking
23:07and he told me he said mama I got to talk to you
23:11I said something wrong and he said
23:14he says mama what do you know about dying
23:17and I said I don't know the game
23:21I said don't tell me that
23:26Melinda Harding has approached police with troubling information about her sons and their connection to their recently deceased neighbor Diana Burrow
23:36Melinda recounts that her youngest son Daniel was very sensitive and Daniel drinks all the time she described him as an alcoholic
23:58he was drinking one night and she said that the way he drank excessively like that he would want to talk and just bear his soul
24:06and he looked at me and he's like mama how old do you know your son Jason
24:13and I said what are you talking about
24:15she says mama what do you know about dying
24:19and I froze
24:22that's when Miss Melinda knew what he was trying to get to
24:25Melinda proceeds to tell law enforcement that Daniel told her that his brother Jason confessed to him that he had murdered Diana Burrow
24:41I said Daniel are you for sure
24:47Jason really killed Diane
24:50and he I mean he would just be crying yes mama
24:54he told me he did
24:56he said tonight Diane died
25:00Jason come home the next day
25:02with a big old hand full of jewelry
25:04he said he got the jewelry from Diane's house inside
25:09but as far as how he done it how he got in the house
25:14I don't know
25:16Melinda explains that Jason sold the jewelry to Daniel's girlfriend
25:20and it was this transaction that triggered the fight that ended in Daniel's arrest
25:24she bought it from Jason and it come from Diane
25:30would Daniel make up this kind of a lie on Jason?
25:34I don't think so
25:36not when it comes to nothing like that
25:38to have someone's mother come in and to actually say
25:42no it's not Daniel it was Jason Daniel told me he confessed
25:45absolutely shocks law enforcement
25:48she would not have come in to do that unless she believed number one that Daniel was being truthful with her
25:56number two that her son was capable of doing that
25:59after agent Williams wraps up with Daniel's mother
26:02he turns his attention back to Daniel
26:04hoping the secrets she revealed will finally compel him to talk
26:08after my interview with Melinda Harding her younger son Daniel Johnson
26:13he comes in my office and I interview him
26:17let's talk about your brother Jason
26:20he's involving in possibly harming Diane
26:23who told y'all about Anne?
26:25your mother
26:27he agreed to talk to me but he really didn't want to
26:30I didn't even go in the woman's house
26:32I just bought some jewelry and me and my brother got in a fight yesterday
26:36and I got recharged for breaking in the woman's house
26:39I kept going at him I said I know you know something because you told your mother
26:42tell me what you told your mother
26:43tell me what you told your mother
26:45all I want to know can you help me man
26:47we can't promise you anything but what we will say is that
26:50your sisters
26:52will definitely go to just return and tell them that you cooperated
26:55and finally he began to talk to me
26:58my brother
27:00Jason
27:02what did he tell you?
27:04Daniel finally broke down and confessed to them what Jason had confessed to him
27:09Daniel said he and Jason were drunk or high
27:13Jason when he gets high he starts to you know run his mouth a lot
27:18and he mentioned what he had done to Miss Diana
27:20Daniel tells law enforcement that Jason held his hand down over her until she stopped breathing
27:26and she never woke up
27:27and she never woke up
27:29and I told her my mother
27:32sounds like a fantastic story it sounds almost too good to believe
27:33please hold off on interviewing Jason
27:36despite the fact that both his brother and mother have experienced his hand down over her
27:39until she stopped breathing
27:41and she never woke up
27:43and I told her my mother
27:46because I couldn't believe what you were telling me all this
27:53sounds like a fantastic story it sounds almost too good to believe
28:00police hold off on interviewing Jason
28:03despite the fact that both his brother and mother have accused him of murder
28:07it's very calculated not to go to Jason Johnson at this time
28:12you want to gather as much information as you can
28:15because when you do sit down and talk to him you want to have all your ducks in a row
28:19so even if it means not talking to that particular suspect for a long time
28:24you just take your time gather your information
28:27one of the things we continuously considered was that Daniel was not telling us the truth
28:33his credibility was very suspect and so most of everything that we heard we need a corroboration
28:39for those who knew Jason he was a petty thief
28:43he wasn't known to be violent or aggressive in that nature
28:46so we really still weren't sure if he was capable of doing what we thought he may have
28:54still the issue though looming out of all this is the fact that we still don't know how Miss Burrow died
29:00and whether or not it's a result of natural causes or it's a homicide
29:04detectives are now zeroing in on two suspects Daniel and Jason
29:09but without proof that Diana's death was anything more than heart failure
29:13they make a bold decision
29:15we still have no way of knowing what happened to Diana
29:18so that point in time the decision was made from us meaning that we needed to exhume her body
29:24in the months following Diana Burrow's death law enforcement have decided to exhume her body for an autopsy
29:34they want to know if she died of natural causes or was it something more nefarious
29:35in the months following Diana Burrow's death law enforcement have decided to exhume her body for an autopsy
29:49they want to know if she died of natural causes or was it something more nefarious
29:53we did know exhuming the body was not an easy task
30:00it can take a long time
30:03we were able to get the exhumation approved and ordered by the court
30:07at that point then we reached out to the Burrow family
30:11brought them up to speed on everything that had happened
30:13they told me that they had heard rumors
30:17that Jason had killed my wife
30:20it was a shock to me
30:22and I was kind of
30:24you know taken back
30:26the police said you know they really had no evidence
30:29so the only way they could do it is to exhume her body
30:32I wanted to find out the truth
30:34to find out if she died of natural causes or if she was murdered
30:38so I want her body exhumed
30:40when I first heard that they were exhuming her body for a possible murder I couldn't believe it
30:47at that point I still believed she had died of natural causes
30:51are they going to pull her body out of the ground and find something?
30:54I didn't think so
30:56not from what I saw
30:58but I'm not a medical examiner neither
31:00and we never questioned it at the time of her death
31:03so I said if that's what you want to happen
31:06I'll support you 100%
31:07but I don't see why they're exhuming her body
31:13so on October 24th 2012
31:15the body of Miss Diana Burrell
31:17was exhumed from Gardens of Faith Cemetery in Lumberton, North Carolina
31:21my family was there
31:23now going to get her body exhumed
31:27that was harder than a funeral
31:30for me
31:31when the body came up
31:33we did open the vault
31:34and actually opened the casket
31:36right there on scene
31:38we want to do it as quickly as possible
31:39make it as compassionate as you can
31:41but her body was in pristine condition
31:44you would not think it had been in the ground for almost two years going on
31:48when they opened up the vault and took her body out
31:52put it in a body bag
31:54it was very emotional
31:56that was
31:58Lee Riven everything over again
32:01worse
32:03but it was
32:05it was something that was necessary
32:07to do
32:09to get justice for Diane
32:13they transferred the body to a body bag
32:15and from there it was taken to the chief medical examiner's office for autopsy in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
32:22the chief pathologist performed the autopsy
32:25and during the course of the autopsy
32:27she noticed a number of things that had not been noticed prior
32:31after they removed the makeup from Miss Diana
32:35they found scratches
32:37on her ears and nose and the left side of her face
32:40and it was unclear where the scratch marks came from
32:43the pathologist found her to have soft tissue injury to her neck
32:49and also found there to be teeth impressions in her tongue
32:53which indicated that her teeth had been closed down on her tongue
32:58at some point prior to her death
33:01somebody had pushed her mouth together
33:04a series of x-rays showed that Miss Diana had one fracture rib on the upper left side
33:09she also had a fractured hyoid bone
33:14the hyoid is a small u-shaped bone that's situated in the middle of the neck just below the jaw
33:19and it was cracked
33:21and it takes a significant amount of pressure to break that bone
33:24these are injuries that we would not have been able to see
33:27had we not had the exhumation and the autopsy
33:30to investigators that's what we were looking for
33:31that would indicate a lot of pressure around the neck the throat area
33:37that's not a bone that just breaks naturally
33:40you have to exert pressure on that one
33:42that was basically all we needed to hear
33:46the examination also revealed that she did have some heart disease
33:50but she did not die of a heart attack
33:52the cause of her death was actually asphyxiation by smothering
33:58or suffocation
34:00so as a result of this
34:02the medical examiner revises the cause of death for Miss Burrow
34:06from natural causes to a homicide
34:09this was now officially a murder investigation
34:12the autopsy ends over a year and a half of rumors and speculation
34:17forcing the Burrow family to question everything they believed about Diana's death
34:23I would never believe in a hundred years that Diane had been murdered
34:28she was just kind to everybody
34:31it was a punch in the gut
34:33I had a rage about it
34:35I thought she had died peacefully
34:37but then to have someone break a bone in your neck
34:41I don't think it was peaceful at all
34:43now armed with clear evidence of murder
34:48detectives waste no time sitting down with the prime suspect
34:53her neighbor Jason Johnson
34:56at that point Jason is in a state prison
35:00having been sentenced from violating his probation for some prior break-ins
35:05we set up the interview in prison
35:07and Jason agrees to talk to us
35:09the bottom line is that we're doing a homicide investigation
35:16what?
35:17a homicide
35:19at first Jason was like you know what's going on
35:21he's not really sure
35:23he was just playing coy
35:25we tell him why they're there and at the death of Miss Burrow
35:27it's been ruled a homicide
35:29this is my word
35:31I ain't nothing to do with no homicide man
35:33I don't get down like that
35:34this is my life man
35:36he was just adamant that he did not
35:38it had anything to do with her death
35:40right now he got a dead one
35:42she didn't die in natural causes
35:44Daniel's going to be the one
35:46that gets hit with all of this
35:48he's got the dead one that's proper
35:50what's up?
35:51there's a brother like that
35:53Jason also at the same time
35:55indicates that he doesn't believe his brother
35:56had anything to do with it either
35:58in the end we ended the interview
36:04we thought we had enough to go after him
36:08but he didn't break
36:10so he's sent back to prison
36:12at this point it's a disappointment
36:14until we had that confession
36:16we were basically pitting one person
36:18one witness with very little credibility
36:21against another person with very little credibility
36:23without some direct statements that indicate that he was involved in Ms. Burrow's death
36:29law enforcement will not be able to move forward
36:48Jason Johnson is the prime suspect in the recently discovered murder of Diana Burrow
36:53but he's not admitting to anything
36:56we still don't have any direct evidence that he committed this murder
37:00we're going to have to have some sort of confession on the part of Jason
37:03so the decision is made to take another attempt at him
37:08approximately five days later the second interview was conducted
37:12it's kind of unconventional
37:14because a lot of times you get one shot at somebody
37:16and if they're not going to break they don't break
37:18but we wanted to give it a shot with Jason one more time
37:20the new tactic this time was I'm going to charge your family members
37:25he takes a very hard line to get a confession from Jason
37:30police say since it's not you
37:32it's your brother Daniel because he had the property on him
37:35and that's who I'm going to charge
37:37and you know what I'm going to charge your mother because she knew about this
37:39do you know anything about the crime that happened on that particular day
37:44yes sir
37:46were you involved in the crime that happened on that particular day
37:50at that point to our surprise Jason broke
37:54would you tell us what happened
37:56I was high that night off crack cocaine
37:59Jason claimed that when he broke into the house
38:01he was just looking for something to steal
38:03so he can go out and buy more drugs
38:06I was going across the fence
38:09to Miss Diane's house
38:11while I was in there
38:13I noticed Miss Diane laying on the couch
38:16and she was laying there
38:17I started finding stuff to take out the house
38:20she heard a noise
38:23and she got in love
38:27and when I walked in there
38:28she's like Jason what are you doing
38:30what are you doing
38:33I was so high that
38:35I didn't know what the hell I was doing
38:36to tell you the truth
38:38and he just grabs her
38:39puts his hand on her face over her nose
38:42and proceeds to smother her
38:45how did you do this
38:47with my hand?
38:49he said he looked away
38:51and basically just smothered her
38:53until she didn't move anymore
38:55and then what happened?
38:57I painted
38:58and I ran out of the house
39:01I was out of the house
39:03did you know that she was dead
39:05and that didn't happen?
39:06no
39:07I didn't
39:09he said he didn't know what he was doing
39:10he had no intentions on harming
39:12or certainly not killing anyone
39:14did you do anything else to the body?
39:18no, I just covered her up
39:20that was it
39:21Jason goes on to tell law enforcement that Daniel knew nothing about this
39:37he was not present, he was not part of the break-in
39:40he was not there when he killed Ms. Burrow
39:41Jason is already incarcerated in North Carolina Department of Corrections
39:46but immediately after the interview
39:48he's also formally charged with first degree murder and first degree burglary
39:53when initially we found out that Jason was the one who had murdered my wife
39:59it was very surprising to the whole family
40:01because she was always kind to these boys
40:04and Jason
40:06felt like he respected Diane enough
40:08to be more of a protector to her than harm to her
40:11approximately seven months later in June of 2013
40:16Jason is formally indicted for both of those charges
40:19we are now two years plus from the date she passed away
40:24at that time the state then designates it as a capital case
40:26which means Jason could be sentenced to life without possibility of parole
40:30or death
40:32the first thing you want is death
40:35given the track record of the death penalty in North Carolina
40:38it was highly unlikely that was going to happen because it wasn't premeditated
40:43so I wanted as many years as he could get possibly without parole
40:47this case continues over the course of several years for different hearings
40:52and trying to schedule a potential trial date
40:55the wheels of justice turned pretty slowly in Robeson County
40:59and the reason is they don't have resources
41:01there's a long line of people waiting trial
41:03and eventually the suggestion was made to see if we could try to resolve the case
41:08the DA talked to me about a flea bargain
41:12he suggested a minimum of 40 years a maximum of 50
41:16obviously he's going to be in jail for quite a long time
41:19the Burrow family agrees to the plea deal
41:23and five years after Diana's murder
41:26Jason is sentenced to 50 years in prison
41:29the first time we'd seen Jason
41:32since the murder was in the courtroom at that time
41:36it was challenging for my whole family
41:40to see him face to face
41:42I spoke to Jason
41:44he did say he was sorry
41:47I apologized
41:49and I told him that
41:50it was hard
41:52but I forgave him
41:54but I hoped that God would forgive him
41:59Mom was a very caring lady
42:02but I know
42:04in my heart she's in a better place
42:06that's how I deal with it
42:09hardly a day goes by that I don't think of her
42:14I miss Diane's companionship or honesty or love
42:18I could never find anyone to even come close to replacing her
42:23lots of things my wife did
42:26I probably took for granted
42:28so for anyone who's listening to this
42:31I hope that you take it to heart
42:32if nothing else
42:35that you love the ones that you love
42:38and let her know
Be the first to comment