state of louisiana vs. kerry burton · synopsis kerry burton is a student at west rice high school...

2020 Louisiana High School Mock Trial Competition Case

State of Louisiana

vs.

Kerry Burton

A CRIMINAL CASE BY THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA-MONROE MOCK TRIAL TEAM

ISIAH CHAVIS SHELBY JOYNER

Synopsis

Kerry Burton is a student at West Rice High School in Bureaux, Louisiana. On

November 10th

, 2018 at approximately 10:00 P.M., Kerry was allegedly spotted attacking

David Copeland, an elderly man who resided in Bureaux, Louisiana, and stealing his wallet.

The wallet contained three debit cards and cash, which all amounted to a total of $1,373.

David Copeland died as a result of a heart attack that was unrelated to the alleged crime. Due

to eye witness accounts, Kerry Burton was arrested and charged with simple robbery on

November 11th

, 2018 at 12:10 A.M.

Available Witnesses

Prosecution

● Chris Evelyn, First Responding Officer

● Tyler Linderman, Eye Witness

● Payton Morris, Detective

Defense

● Kerry Burton, Defendant

● Amari Sandifer, Eye Witness

● Dr. Jorden Remington, Criminologist

Exhibit List

1. Kerry Burton’s Bracelet

2. David Copeland’s Wallet

3. Clothes Found in Bayou Neiman (A,B,C,D)

4. Kerry Burton’s P.E. Excuse

5. Map of Bureaux

BUREAUX DISTRICT COURT ACADIANA PARISH, LOUISIANA

STATE OF LOUISIANA

CASE NO.: CR17-07-0993

Plaintiff v.

KERRY BURTON

Defendant

INDICTMENT AND BILL OF PARTICULARS

STATE OF LOUISIANA,

ACADIANA PARISH, LA:

In the Year 2019

THE JURORS OF THE GRAND JURY OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, within and for the body

for the Parish aforesaid, on their oaths, in the name and by the authority of the State of Louisiana, do

find and present that:

COUNT ONE

SIMPLE ROBBERY

On or about November 10th, 2018, in Acadiana Parish, Louisiana, Kerry Burton did purposely or

knowingly engage in taking anything of value belonging to another person by use of force, or

intimidation, but was not armed with a dangerous weapon, which constitutes the offense of SIMPLE

ROBBERY, a Felony of the First Degree, in violation of Louisiana Revised Statute 14:65, and against

the peace and dignity of the State of Louisiana. To wit: Kerry Burton used physical force to take the

wallet of David Copeland.

D. Hoy

D. Hoy (009920)

PROSECUTING ATTORNEY

A TRUE BILL

K. Lazerus FOREPERSON, GRAND JURY

BUREAUX DISTRICT COURT

ACADIANA PARISH, LOUISIANA

STATE OF LOUSIANA

CASE NO.: CR17-07-0993

Plaintiff

v.

KERRY BURTON

Defendant

JURY INSTRUCTIONS (SIMPLE ROBBERY)

The defendant, Kerry Burton, is charged with simple robbery in violation of §14:65 of the Louisiana

Penal Code. You must find the defendant not guilty unless you find that the government has proven

beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of simple robbery as set forth in Instruction No. 1.

INSTRUCTION NO. 1: SIMPLE ROBBERY

You will find the defendant, Kerry Burton, guilty if, and only if, the government has proven

beyond a reasonable doubt all of the following: A. The defendant took something of value that belonged

to another person; B. The defendant used force to take the valuable object.

INSTRUCTION NO. 2: PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE

The law presumes a defendant to be innocent of a crime, and the indictment shall not be

considered as evidence or as having any weight against the defendant. You shall find the defendant not

guilty unless you are satisfied from the evidence alone and beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant

is guilty. If upon the whole case you have a reasonable doubt as to guilt, you must find the defendant not

guilty.

INSTRUCTION NO. 3: ARGUMENTS AND REMARKS OF COUNSEL

Remarks of the attorneys are not evidence. If the remarks suggest certain facts not in evidence,

disregard those remarks. However, you are to consider carefully the closing arguments of the attorneys.

Ultimately you must draw your own conclusions and decide your verdict according to the evidence,

under the instructions given to you by the court.

INSTRUCTION NO. 4: CREDIBILITY OF WITNESSES

It is the duty of the jury to scrutinize and weigh the testimony of witnesses and to determine the

effect of the evidence as a whole. You are the sole judges of the credibility, that is, the believability, of

the witnesses and of the weight to be given to their testimony. In determining the credibility of each

witness and the weight to give the testimony of each witness, consider these factors:

A. whether the witness has an interest or lack of interest in the result of this trial;

B. the witness’s conduct, appearance, and demeanor on the witness stand;

C. the clearness or lack of clearness of the witness’s recollections;

D. the opportunity the witness had for observing and for knowing the matters the witness testified

about;

E. the reasonableness of the witness’s testimony;

F. the apparent intelligence of the witness;

G. bias or prejudice, if any has been shown;

H. possible motives for falsifying testimony; and

I. all other facts and circumstances during the trial which tend either to support or to discredit the

testimony.

Then give to the testimony of each witness the weight you believe it should receive. There is no

predetermined way for you to evaluate the testimony; instead, you should use your common sense and

experience.

INSTRUCTION NO. 5: EVIDENCE; INTERPRETING EVIDENCE

When making your decision, you may rely on both direct and circumstantial evidence. Direct

evidence is testimony by a witness about what that witness personally did, saw, or heard. Circumstantial

evidence is indirect evidence from which the fact finder may infer that another fact is true. Neither type

of evidence should be given categorically more weight than the other.

The State’s burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt applies to each and every

element of the crime charged. This burden, however, does not operate on the many subordinate,

evidentiary, or incidental facts as distinguished from proof of the elements of the crime or of an ultimate

fact. Where, however, the State relies in whole or in part on circumstantial evidence to prove an element

of a crime, although each link in the chain of evidence need not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,

the cumulative impact of that evidence must, in order to support that inference, convince the finder of

fact beyond a reasonable doubt that the element has been proven.

INSTRUCTION NO. 6: UNANIMOUS VERDICT

The verdict of the Jury must be unanimous as to guilty or not guilty, and be signed by one of you

as Foreperson.

DATE: ___________________

_______________________

JUDGE

Chris Evelyn

I am over 18 years old, and I am competent to testify. My name is Chris Evelyn, I am currently

38 years old, and I reside in Bureaux, Louisiana. I have been a local police officer in Bureaux for about

16 years, and I am running to be the town’s Sheriff in November of 2020. Prior to becoming a police

officer, I graduated from West Rice High School and became a semi-professional boxer for four years.

After that last year, I decided that taking punches to the face was not the best way to spend my time.

Instead, I wanted to guard my hometown from crime.

I remember being contacted on November 10th

, 2018 to respond to an alleged mugging on 25th

Avenue by the local grocery store. I received the call at 10:00 P.M., on the dot. Since Bureaux is a small

town, I was able to arrive at the scene at 10:12 P.M. It was there when I saw David Copeland, apparently

the victim, lying on the ground in an alleyway adjacent to Greene’s Groceries. He was a very close

friend of mine. He always hosted these massive neighborhood barbeques. He even volunteered to do one

for my campaign. He was the nicest man in all of history, and for him to be beaten up and robbed was a

brand new low.

Copeland was conscious and responsive, but he was still pretty shaken up by the situation. As I

helped him to his feet, he kept mentioning a man in black and that the man had his wallet. I sat him in

the back of the ambulance that arrived a few minutes after me. Then, I searched the scene for potential

clues to give Detective Amber when she arrived. I found a few blood splatters where Copeland laid

earlier. I did not find any weapon, nor did I have reason to suspect that there was a weapon. I searched

the parking lot of Greene’s Groceries to the alley where I found Copeland. I did not find anything.

Detective Amber showed up at 10:36 P.M., and I explained to her the situation. She asked me if I

spoke with any eye witnesses. I completely forgot to do that, and, by that time, most of the potential eye

witnesses left the scene. We went to check on Copeland, and he did not look so good. His face was

bruised up, and his nose was still bloody. I asked him if he could give me any more details. He looked at

me and said: “It was a person in a black ski-mask, a black long-sleeve shirt, with black gloves, black

pants, and black boots. I only know one knuckle-head in this town that would do this, and I can bet you

all the money in that wallet that it’s Kerry Burton.” I asked if the wallet had any money in it, and he told

me that there was exactly $1,373 worth of cash and debit cards. I asked which way the person went, and

he shrugged and said: “I was too busy getting beat up.”

Detective Amber and I walked over to the grocery store to see if any workers were able to give

us any details. There, we met Tyler Linderman who was an employee at the grocery store. It was

possible that Tyler may have seen the whole attack, so we interviewed Tyler. Tyler told us that Tyler

saw a person in all black follow David Copeland to his car. Tyler also told us that the person had a blue

bracelet around their wrist. I asked Tyler who Tyler thought the attacker was, and Tyler said, “Kerry is

the only knuckle-head in the town. It has to be Kerry”. I asked where the attacker went, and Tyler

pointed down the road towards Bayou Neiman. We thanked Tyler, secured the scene, and headed

towards Bayou Neiman at 11:03 P.M.

At Bayou Neiman, we saw a pile of black clothes next to a tree. The wallet was still in the pants

pocket. The clothes were incredibly wet and were probably soaked in the Bayou. We took the clothes in

as evidence, but we did not expect to get any usable DNA from them. The water in Bayou Neiman is

polluted because of some drilling contract that the mayor gave some big company. Whatever DNA was

on those clothes was most likely ruined. We found the wallet, as well. It was completely empty. We did

find the blue bracelet Tyler Linderman described. At this point, all the signs pointed to Kerry Burton.

After a phone call to Detective Amber’s mentor, Detective Payton Morris, we found Kerry’s home, and

brought Kerry in for questioning at 11:50 P.M. When Kerry admitted that the bracelet belonged to

Kerry, we arrested Kerry for the unarmed robbery of David Copeland at 12:10 A.M. on November 11th

,

2018.

The next day, I called David Copeland’s home to return his wallet. No one answered. A few days

went by. I found out from a fellow officer that on November 13th

, Copeland had a heart attack and

passed away. There was no indication that the robbery had anything to do with it. I cried for the first

time in a very, very long time. He was a model citizen and a great friend.

Of the exhibits, I am aware of Kerry Burton’s bracelet, Copeland’s wallet, the clothes from

Bayou Neiman, and the layout of the crime scene. I swear and affirm that the information I gave is true

and accurate. I am aware that I had up to 24 hours prior to this date to change my statement or add any

relevant information.

I agreed to complete this statement under oath.

Chris Evelyn

Chris Evelyn

Tyler Linderman

I am 17 years old, and I am competent to testify. My name is Tyler Linderman, and I live in

Bureaux, Louisiana with my parents. I am in my junior year at West Rice High School. That is where I

met Kerry Burton, in Williams’ History class freshman year. We still have, or should I say had, a few

classes together: Coach Morrow’s Math class and Stephenson’s English class. I don’t play any sports at

West Rice, but I am president of the Chess Club, which is up to about 7 members right now. We’re

hoping to get up to the 10 we will need to compete at the regionals tournament this year. I am currently

working at Greene’s Grocery Store over off 25th

Avenue, and I have been working there for about a year

and half now. Greene is a great employer, and Greene was very kind to offer me the job when my

parents were pushing me to make some extra money to pay for my gas.

Kerry was not what you would a call a marvelous student. Kerry was known as the school jerk

and would always try to start fights with other students or pop off to teachers in class over really

anything Kerry didn’t want to do. Kerry was always getting in trouble, sent to detention, and Kerry even

once had to stay and clean the locker room when Coach Morrow had enough of Kerry’s attitude.

Because Kerry was a no-good, my parents didn’t really care for Kerry, and neither did I. Kerry always

gave me a bad vibe.

Aside from Kerry’s attitude, Kerry did not stand out very much. Kerry wasn’t very tall, or

incredibly short. Kerry wasn’t heavy or pencil thin. Kerry’s only physical trademark was a blue bracelet.

Kerry was always wearing the same bright blue bracelet to class. I think Kerry stole it or something.

On November 10, 2018, I was working my normal late shift at Greene’s Grocery. I was always

the one that Greene trusted to lock up the store, and David Copeland was one of our last customers that

night. Mr. Copeland usually came to do his shopping late, so he came in around 9:30 p.m. to get his

weekly groceries. Mr. Copeland was in the store maybe 25 minutes when I saw him walking to his car

parked in front of the store. Mr. Copeland wasn’t alone in the parking lot, however. When Mr.

Copeland was about halfway to his car, I saw someone in all black with a ski mask come out of the

shadows and begin to follow him to his car. I wasn’t sure what was going on at first, but I realized that

the person was going to attack Mr. Copeland when I saw the attacker begin to chase after him. The

attacker chased Mr. Copeland into the alley beside the grocery store, and I couldn’t see them after that. I

called the police at 10:00 P.M. on the dot.

I didn’t see exactly what happened to Mr. Copeland, and it wasn’t until later that I realized he

was mugged. It’s so sad that someone would do that to such a kind old man. He never harmed anyone

and always had nothing but nice things to say to anyone, even if he was having a bad day. When he died

on November 13th

, the whole town went to his funeral. Not a dry eye in the room, either.

Anyway, I saw the attacker leave the alleyway without Mr. Copeland, and the person ran in the

direction of Bayou Neiman down the street, away from the grocery store. Because the attacker was

wearing all black, and, because it was 10:00 p.m., it was hard to really see anything about their face.

However, I did see a bright blue bracelet that Kerry Burton always wore to school on the attacker’s wrist

as the attacker was bolting from the scene. I know Kerry was a knucklehead and the school’s designated

trouble kid, but it’s a whole other level to attack a helpless, old man.

I swear and affirm that the information I gave is true and accurate. I am aware that I had up to 24

hours prior to this date to change my statement or add any relevant information.


Tyler Linderman

Tyler Linderman

Payton Morris

I am over 18 years old and I am competent to testify. My name is Detective Payton Morris, I am

46 years old, and I am currently a detective in Groupingsville, Louisiana. My coworkers call me “Dr.

Bulls-eye” for my ability to locate suspects without very much technology. In fact, I aided in affirming

the approximate location of the suspect, Kerry Burton for Kerry’s arrest. Prior to my time in the force, I

double majored in Criminal Justice and Physics at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor until 1995,

when I graduated. After that, I worked for the Groupingsville Police Department as a regular policeman

for about 10 years. I became a detective and have been a detective for 14 years.

In order for me to pinpoint Kerry Burton, I used basic investigative methods. Essentially, I

followed the footprints to Kerry’s front door. The catch is fitting the footprints to the timeline. One of

my more difficult cases had to deal with pinpointing the location of a college student who murdered a

couple in their apartment. The reason why it was difficult was because the timeline given to me from the

police did not fit the evidence taken at the scene. This case, however, had to be one of the least

challenging ones I’ve ever had. Honestly, I’m disappointed that Detective Amber, my protégé, could not

do it herself.

To solve this case, I had to know where the first piece of evidence was. That evidence was the

phone call from the grocery store to the police station on November 10th

, 2018. That was at 10:00 P.M.

The blood found at 10:12 P.M. confirms that the attack happened in the alleyway. The next part gets a

little tricky because the first responding officer failed to get an adequate time when the attacker ran from

the scene. It can be inferred that the attacker left between 10:00 P.M. and 10:12 P.M. since Kerry Burton

was not at the scene when the police arrived. Twelve minutes is more than enough time for the attacker

to run to Bayou Neiman if they took 25th

Avenue straight across, running parallel to the Rice Plant. Any

other route may have led to the attacker being sighted by the police as they made their way to the crime

scene.

The next piece of evidence confirms that the attacker stopped for a moment by Bayou Neiman.

The clothes found at the scene were wet and in a pile. This suggests that the attacker had time to strip

down, dunk the clothes in the polluted water, and leave. At around 11:05 P.M., the clothes were found.

This large gap of time gave Kerry a little under an hour to run home before the police arrived. Kerry was

brought in for questioning at 11:50 P.M., meaning that Kerry had approximately two hours to run from

Bayou Neiman to Kerry’s home and decompress.

The laws of physics explain that the fastest route from one point to another is straight across. If

Kerry Burton simply ran straight across from 25th

Avenue to Bayou Neiman, then from Bayou Neiman

to Kerry’s home, then it may have taken about 30 minutes travel time. This is all assuming that Kerry’s

path was a logical one.

I used the map of Bureaux to confirm my theory. The map is not drawn to scale, but I doubt that

my findings would be any different if it were. The only way my findings would change is if there was

more traffic and delays than described to me by Detective Amber and Officer Evelyn.




Payton Morris

Payton Morris

Kerry Burton

I am 17 years old, and I am competent to testify. My name is Kerry Burton and I currently go to

West Rice High School. My parents divorced when I was 7 years old, so I bounce around between two

places: Bureaux, Louisiana and Boston, Massachusetts. I think I deserve the award for the least

understood teenager in all of Bureaux, Louisiana. Everyone thinks I’m a jerk and a bully. Really, I just

tell it like it is, an people don’t like it when you tell them like it is nowadays.

Since Harold, my dad, works around the clock at the Rice Plant, I’m home alone a lot. It gets

lonely, but I’m glad I had a neighbor like Mr. Copeland. He always did these awesome cookouts. The

whole town would be there! Even when he wasn’t grilling, he’d invite me over for dinner since he knew

my dad wasn’t home. He seemed like one of the only people who liked me in Bureaux. We got along

great, with the exception of one incident when I took a pocket knife from his house. It wasn’t on

purpose. I thought he said to keep it, but he really said leave it. I apologized and he seemed fine.

I usually played basketball with Mr.Copeland’s grandkids who were around my age. I had to

stop, though, because I dunked over one of them and landed knee-first on the concrete. That was the first

time I’ve cried in years. My knee was super swollen after, and I had this unattractive limp for weeks. I

should’ve went to the hospital, but Harold didn’t bring me. He just wrote me an excuse for P.E. and

called it a day. It felt better by November 10th

, though.

That day sucked. I got detention for calling my biology teacher an idiot for not knowing the

difference between mitosis and meiosis, my mom called me to tell me I couldn’t come for Christmas

(and I love Boston Christmases), and I got arrested. The day started with me walking to school as I

normally did. I waved at Mr. Copeland, who was doing his morning run, and made it to school about 10

minutes late. I have P.E. first hour, and I couldn’t run because of my knee, so it was fine. After getting

detention in biology and that phone call from my mom at lunch, the school day ended, and I went home

at about 3:15 P.M.

I thought about taking a plane to Boston right then and there so I could have a fresh start. Then I

remembered that Harold doesn’t give allowances, and I only had enough money for a stick of gum. A

plane ticket to Boston would cost around $700. I also needed money for Christmas gifts to myself, so

that’s another $600. That’s $1,300 I had to make magically appear by the end of the day. As I tried to

think of ways to get this money, I looked out of my bedroom window and saw Mr. Copeland cleaning

his car at around 8-ish. He usually goes grocery shopping once a week, so I figured that’s what he was

cleaning for.

Then I had an idea. What if I hosted the biggest party Bureaux has ever seen? I could charge $10

to get in and extra for food. I could make at least $2,000. I jotted down some specifics and went to ask

Mr. Copeland for advice. By the time I got out there, he was gone. I went back inside and kept working

some stuff out.

It must’ve been almost 12:00 A.M. when I heard some vicious knocking on the front door. I went

to answer and saw that it was Officer Evelyn. He’s the guy who thinks he can be the town’s sheriff in

2020. He and an unfamiliar woman threw me in the back of a cop car and drove all of 30 seconds to the

police station. There, they asked me about Mr. Copeland and some gross wet black clothes. They

showed me my blue bracelet that my only friend gave me years ago. I was relieved because I lost it

about a week before. They didn’t give it back to me. They also showed me Mr. Copeland’s wallet. I

recognized it because he always just left it around his house, and I’d help him look for it before I left.

Then, they called my dad and arrested me for robbing Mr. Copeland. Crazy, right?

I overheard Officer Evelyn talking to another police officer on November 13th, and they said that

Mr. Copeland had a heart attack and died. That crushed me. I loved the old guy, and I knew he tolerated

me more than anyone. I miss him, and I wish I could’ve gone to his funeral.




Kerry Burton

Kerry Burton

Amari Sandifer

I am 16 years old, and I am competent to testify. My name is Amari Sandifer, and I am a

sophomore at West Rice High School in Bureaux, Louisiana. I am currently enrolled in the Gifted and

Talented Program at West Rice, taking 3 AP classes, and I work as a tutor at the school for students of

all ages. I know Kerry Burton from helping Kerry in Kerry’s Math and English classes over the years.

Kerry is a decent student in class, but Kerry struggles some. We also take Coach Morrow’s P.E. class

together, where Kerry really shines.

I’ve known Kerry for a few years now, and Kerry is one of my best students to tutor. Kerry is a

little misunderstood by a lot of people, including teachers at the school. Kerry was always getting in

trouble for speaking Kerry’s mind, but Kerry always meant well. Kerry just hated the idea of an opinion

being unheard or someone thinking their way is the only way. Kerry always questioned things, and that

ended up getting Kerry in trouble for dumb reasons. About a week before the attack on David Copeland,

Kerry had an accident after school one day and hurt Kerry’s knee. I saw it when Kerry came to tutor that

week, and Kerry was limping really badly that day. The limp was very noticeable, but Kerry didn’t want

people to try to help Kerry around. Kerry was always very independent. Kerry used to wear this blue

bracelet all the time to school, but when Kerry hurt Kerry’s knee, Kerry stopped wearing it. Kerry didn’t

have it on the Friday before the attack on David Copeland, and I hadn’t seen Kerry wearing it for a

couple of days before that.

I don’t make very much tutoring, so, as a second job to help save for college, I work at Greene’s

Grocery Store on 25th

Avenue, where the attack on David Copeland occurred. I work there with Tyler

Linderman and a few other teenagers from school. It’s been a pretty good way of making some friends

since I study so much and am always busy with school stuff. I am wanting to apply to Princeton for

college, so all I do, pretty much, is stuff that can look good on a résumé. My parents pushed me to start

the job so that I could develop better people skills, and I really do love it.

With that said, Tyler Linderman is not a very nice person. Tyler is always trying to leave early,

get everyone else to work Tyler’s shifts, and always picking on people. I don’t like Tyler, and I try to

avoid getting the same shift with Tyler, but I always end up getting the late shift with Tyler. Tyler is a

jerk, and ever since Tyler made fun of me when I was 15 for accidently walking into an occupied stall

on the first day of my freshman year, I have never wanted to be around Tyler.

Tyler and I were working together on the night of November 10, 2018 when David Copeland

came in for his weekly grocery run. For some reason, he always came in at the same time at night: 9:30,

30 minutes before closing. Mr. Copeland was such a sweet man that he always made the last 30 minutes

of my shift bearable with Tyler. That night, Mr. Copeland was in the store probably about 20 minutes

before he checked out. I watched Mr. Copeland leave and walk across to his parked car when a person in

a black ski mask began following him. I saw the attacker chase poor Mr. Copeland into the alleyway. I

couldn’t see what happened next, but I did find out later that Mr. Copeland had been mugged. That is

such a sad thing to have happen to a helpless, old man. I can’t believe anyone would stoop so low.

When the attacker left the alleyway, I saw them head in the direction of Bayou Neiman, down

the street. I couldn’t see where the attacker went exactly, but the person was definitely headed in that

direction. The attacker was running really fast, and there was no limp that I noticed when the person was

chasing Mr. Copeland or when the person ran out of the alleyway. The only thing that I could really tell

that the person was wearing was the black ski mask, but there may have been a blue bracelet on the

person’s wrist. I saw a glimpse of something blue on the attacker’s wrist, but I couldn’t make out what it

was exactly.




Amari Sandifer

Amari Sandifer

Dr. Jorden Remmington

I am over the age of 18 and I am competent to testify. My name is Dr. Jorden Remmington, I am

59 years old—30 years old if you ask my personal trainer—and I am currently a professor at the

University of Florida. I teach Criminal Justice courses for undergraduate and graduate students. Mainly,

I teach Advanced Investigation to my graduate students. Advanced Investigation is a course that deals

with putting intuition and logic into pieces of evidence to form a complete picture. Prior to my teaching,

I received my Bachelor of Criminal Justice degree at Penn State, then my Master of Criminology at

NYU, and my Doctorate in Criminal Justice at N.C. State.

I’ve never completed any field experience, but the methods I teach are well received by any

police department in the country. In fact, several departments have called me in to teach a crash course

to detectives. I regularly testify in trials, as well. I charge my standard rate of $450 per hour for my

examination of the case, and $2,000 to testify. I reviewed the exhibits and affidavits for this case for 40

hours. I was called today to determine whether Detective Payton Morris used sound investigative

methods, and whether those methods led to an accurate conclusion.

To begin, I understand Detective Morris’s reputation as “Dr. Bulls-eye” is in question, here.

Though I am amused by the nickname, I am not impressed with Morris’s work in this case. Morris

describes following the evidence provided to Morris, and assumes that there is nothing to contradict

such evidence. While no investigation is ever fully complete, there were several things that needed to be

confirmed, here. First, what was the time frame between the phone call and the attack on November 10th

,

2018? If it were instantaneous, then Morris is on the mark. If not, then that leaves a gap of time where

evidence could be left to show that the attacker may have ran in a different direction initially, then

towards Bayou Neiman. This means that the window of time to get from one 25th

Avenue to Bayou

Neiman could have been much smaller, even impossible.

Also, the gap between finding the wet clothes and the initial investigation is incredibly broad. So

much so, that the attacker could have skipped town and never came back. The reason this route made

sense to Morris is because Morris was following a specific person and not using very much intuition.

There was no evidence found that suggested Kerry Burton was anywhere near Bayou Neiman at a given

time. Though I concede that the blue bracelet is intriguing.

Lastly, Morris assumes that there were no delays in the attacker’s path. Bad assumption. I tell my

students that assumptions are the equivalent to a wrong answer. What if the attacker was chased by a

dog and ran off course? Then maybe there are footprints that suggest Kerry was nowhere near this

attack. What if the attacker had a getaway car stashed at Bayou Neiman? Then that would suggest that

the attacker could be anywhere. Though, I doubt even the most incompetent investigators could ignore

tire tracks.

In short, Morris’s pinpointing of Kerry Burton leaves way too much ambiguity to be accurate.

Even though the evidence seeming points to Kerry, there has not been a thorough-enough investigation

to affirm it.






Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 3 (A)

Exhibit 3 (B)

Exhibit 3 (C)

Exhibit 3 (D)

Exhibit 4

Dear Coach Morrow,

Kerry’s knee is busted from playing basketball, yesterday. I don’t

think Kerry would be able to run very much until it heals.

Thank you,

Harold Burton

10/4/19

P.s.

Are you coming to David Copeland’s BBQ? I heard he’s cooking those

stuffed bell peppers, again!

Exhibit 5

state of louisiana vs. kerry burton · synopsis kerry burton is a student at west rice high school...

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