Jonathan Burns was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for the sexual assault and murder of a nineteen year old woman
According to court documents Jonathan Burns would kidnap Jackie Hartman who would be sexually assaulted and murdered
Jonathan Burns would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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Jonathan Burns is incarcerated at ASPC Florence
Jonathan Burns Case
On January 27, 2007, Jackie and Burns met at a gas station and went out on a date. Later that evening, Jackie called her sister Randi. Jackie sounded “a little off” and “nervous” and asked Randi to meet her at the gas station as quickly as possible. Randi promptly went to the gas station and waited for Jackie. Two hours later, Jackie called Randi and said she was lost. Jackie sounded confused and could not describe where she was. Burns eventually took the phone and told Randi he was lost, but said he and Jackie would arrive within fifteen minutes. Randi waited for several hours, but Jackie never arrived. Later that day, Randi told her parents that Jackie was missing.
¶ 3 The next day, a maintenance worker found, in an apartment complex dumpster, Jackie’s purse and the blouse, bra, panties, and sandals she was wearing the previous evening. The blouse and bra were torn, and the blouse was stained with Jackie’s blood and had two bullet holes from a close-range firearm discharge. Semen on the panties matched Burns’ DNA.
¶ 4 Police arrested Burns and searched his home and vehicles. In the trunk of Burns’ Honda Civic, police found a pair of men’s jeans stained with Jackie’s blood. In Burns’ truck, which he was driving the night Jackie disappeared, officers discovered Jackie’s blood and an earring she had worn. Inside Burns’ home, police found a case for a Springfield 9mm handgun, but no gun. Mandi Smith, Burns’ fiancée at the time, had purchased the gun for Burns, who was a prohibited possessor (Smith later pleaded guilty to misconduct involving a weapon based on her purchase of the gun).
¶ 5 Almost three weeks later, Jackie’s body was discovered in the Sycamore Creek area. Jackie had suffered two fatal gunshot wounds to her head and several skull fractures from blunt force impacts on her left temple, on top of her head, and under her right eye. She also had vaginal bruising likely caused by blunt force. Sperm on an anal swab taken from Jackie’s body matched Burns’ DNA. The medical examiner determined that wild animals had severed Jackie’s head postmortem. Burns’ cellphone records indicated that he drove to the Sycamore Creek area the night Jackie disappeared and stayed there for several hours.
¶ 6 Shortly before his arrest, Burns had disposed of the Springfield 9mm handgun Mandi had purchased for him. Police later located the handgun. A ballistics expert determined that it had fired a bullet found in the sand beneath where Jackie’s head had been.
¶ 7 The State charged Burns with sexual assault, kidnapping, first-degree murder, and misconduct involving weapons; a jury found Burns guilty on all counts.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/az-supreme-court/1694118.html
