A Maryland man has been charged after shooting dead his brother and sister-in-law because he was convinced that his sibling, a pharmacist, was "killing people with the Covid-19 vaccine," according to court documents revealed on Wednesday.
Jeffrey Burnham, of Cumberland, 46, told his mother that he wanted "to confront Brian about the government poisoning people with COVID vaccines and that he repeatedly stated, 'Brian knows something,'" according to charging documents filed in a Howard County court.
Burnham was arrested on Oct. 1 from a motel in Davis, West Virginia, following an 18-hour manhunt that ended when he confessed to a firefighter that he 'had been forced to kill three people,' the Baltimore Sun reported.
Burnham First Stabbed Mother's Friend to Death Before Driving to Brother's House
He started his murderous rampage by first killing his mother's childhood friend before stealing her car and driving to his brother's house, according to police.
Two days before his arrest, Burnham, who lived with his mother Evelyn and was her caretaker, broke into 83-year-old Rebecca Reynold's home and stabbed her to death. He then stole her Lincoln and drove over to his brother Brian Robinette's home, where he shot the 58-year-old pharmacist and his wife, Kelly Sue Robinette, 57, to death, police said.
The day Reynolds was killed, Ron Kifer, 69, her neighbor and close friend, told the Baltimore Sun that he saw the gates to her house open and her car missing from the driveway. Her backdoor was unlocked, so he went in to check on her and found her on the couch in a nightgown and covered by a blanket.
Kifer thought she had a heart attack, so he called 911. But when police arrived and took off the blanket, they revealed a deep cut along her neck. Court documents state that there were also signs of a struggle and Reynolds was found beside a broken vase, cordless phone and cane strewn on the floor.
Evelyn Contacted Police a Week before the Killings
Evelyn called Cumberland police twice the week before the killings because she was worried about her son's mental health, the paper reported. She told police that Burnham kept claiming that the FBI was after them.
In one call, she told police that Burnham kept a security system in his bedroom at their home. In her second call, she told police that her son concerned her by talking about "Becky's car," referring to Reynolds.
Police Tipped Off by Man Burnham Visited
After the killings, Burnham visited an unknown person's home, where he asked for gas and said "he would see him on TV." After learning of the manhunt for Burnham the "tipster" called Maryland State Police to tell them that he stopped there and kept talking about killing his brother because he was giving people the Covid-19 shot.
After his arrest in West Virginia, Burnham was extradited back to Maryland and is being held without bail at the Allegany County jail. He faces first- and second-degree murder charges.
