HARRISBURG, Ill. (AP) - A southern Illinois doctor accused of killing his estranged wife and burning the body was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder.
Brian Burns is already serving a 20-year prison sentence for trying to arrange the kidnapping of Mike Henshaw, who was the Saline County state’s attorney.
Carla Burns, 49, had worked as a nurse as well as a professor at Southeastern Illinois College. The prosecutor, Matt Goetten, said Burns decided to kill his wife in 2016 because he was going to take a financial hit if she filed a separate tax return during their divorce proceedings.
Burns said he saw his wife shoot herself. He said he panicked and burned her body on a pile of tree limbs.
He quoted her as saying, “Take care of my mom. I’ll always love you. Take care of Chloe,” a reference to their dog.
Goetten, however, pointed to text messages that revealed a broken relationship.
“Your dishonest behavior continues. … You have to let me go,” Carla Burns told Brian Burns.
Defense attorney Duane Verity said an appeal will be pursued. Burns will be sentenced on Feb. 11.
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