The murder trial of George Burch continues Tuesday in Wisconsin. On May 21, 2016, Burch met Nicole VanderHeyden. He’s accused of killing her that same night, as her body was found buried three miles away from her home. Burch is now facing a trial for first-degree intentional murder, but he insists that he didn’t do it. Watch live in the player above.
Burch, whose DNA was found on VanderHeyden’s body, admits that he was with her the night of May 21. He has claimed that they were having sex in a car, when VanderHeyden’s boyfriend, Douglass Detrie, found them. Burch said that Detrie then killed the woman, and threatened Burch at gunpoint, making him move the body to the spot where investigators later found her.
Detrie was initially arrested for the crime, but was then released two weeks later. Two months later, cops arrested Burch for murder.
During opening statements on Monday, the prosecution discussed how police looked into Detrie as the possible killer, but placed him in a different location the night it happened. Burch’s DNA, meanwhile, was on VanderHeyden, and phone records placed his cell phone at the last place she was seen, as well as near the location where her body was found.
This isn’t the first time Burch has been accused of murder. Twenty years ago in Virginia, he was charged with the shooting death of a man believed to be a gang leader, but he was acquitted of all charges after trial.
Stay with Law&Crime.com and the Law&Crime Network for continuing coverage of the trial.
[Image via Brown County Jail]
