The Case of James Burton

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Mysterious Past, Unsolved Murder:
The Case of James W. Burton
by Elizabeth Sinor

Located in southern Michigan, Calhoun County lies midway between Detroit and Chicago, and hosts two major interstate highways, I-94 and I-69. In the southeastern corner of the county is the small rural community of Homer. It is here that the body of an unidentified white male was located by hunters on September 25, 1988, in a field near V Drive South and 29-Mile Road.

Investigators believed the man had been murdered elsewhere between Sunday, September 11th and Wednesday, September 14th of that year, and was dumped at the location where he had been found. The then unidentified man's death was the result of being shot twice in the head with a .25 caliber pistol. Due to money being found on the body, investigators have ruled out robbery as a motive for the crime.

Decomposition of the unknown man's remains, and lack of identifying evidence on the body, made identification difficult for investigators. However, fingerprints were obtained and one hand was preserved for future attempts of identifying this murder victim. Despite a composite sketch being created by a forensic artist and being circulated publically, over time the case grew cold... but investigators did not give up hope. Two years ago, the preserved hand was turned over to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab in Lansing in a renewed attempt to identify its owner. In March 2005 Calhoun County's lead investigator on the case, Detective Guy Picketts, received a call from the State Police... they had a name that belonged to the unidentified murder victim.

James W. Burton

James W. Burton's past is somewhat of a mystery to detectives working his homicide case... Apparently, Burton has a history of being arrested. Once in Georgia in 1974, once in Alaska in 1975, and once in Chicago in 1981 on weapons charges. However, any information gathered by the arresting agencies on Burton has either been destroyed, or little cooperation has been provided regarding further background information into Burton's past.

When arrested in Chicago, Burton told officers that he was born on September 16, 1935, in the small town of Bland, Virginia where he apparently lived. However, detectives could not find any record of Burton there, and it seems that nearly no one in Bland seemed to have heard of Burton. However, one 77-year-old man reported that several family members of a Burton family moved to Michigan years ago, but unfortunately he did not know James.

Further background checks showed that Burton has apparently not been in the military -- though further investigation is being conducted. Also, the Social Security number and Virginia driver's license number supplied by Burton to Chicago police were never issued to him, or anyone for that matter. Even records of the truck driven by Burton at the time of his Chicago arrest have been fruitless. However, due to Burton being arrested in Alaska for construction fraud, and because plaster was found on his boots, investigators feel he may have been a handyman or builder.

It seems no one ever reported James Burton as being missing, and while his murder remains unsolved, the detectives in the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office are simply trying to locate a next of kin.

If you have any information regarding James W. Burton, or his murder, please contact Detective Guy Picketts at 269-781-0946. Or e-mail Elizabeth Sinor at elizabeth@coldserial.net.

What is known about James W. Burton
Reported Birthdate	September 16, 1935
Reported Birthplace	Bland, Virginia
Age at time of death (1988)	53-years-old
Hair Color	Brown
Height	5'5 to 6'2
Dentals	Teeth were in poor condition
Clothing	Jeans, white t-shirt, and a blue and red flannel jacket
Arrests
1974	Georgia
1975	Alaska (construction fraud)
1981	Chicago, IL (weapons charges)

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