ENID — Joseph Cameron Burke has been charged with murder in the shooting death of his sister Saturday night, just four days shy of her 41st birthday.
The 44-year-old Joseph Burke is alleged to have shot Lacey M. Burke, 40, once in the chest on the front porch of their shared family home at 304 Enid-Teasdale Road, Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly said Monday.
A probable cause hearing was held Sunday afternoon before Justice Judge Steve Ross, who set Joseph Burke’s bond at $300,000, Fly noted. He said the accused faces a June 27 preliminary hearing in Tallahatchie County Justice Court in Charleston.
The sheriff said the shooting was reported in a call to the Tallahatchie County Jail in Charleston at 8:16 Saturday.
A deputy arriving at 8:20, according to Fly, saw the victim’s 24-year-old son, Joshua Caleb Burke, who also lived at the residence, holding his mother in the front yard near a walkway leading to the porch.
“He was saying that his mother had been shot,” noted Fly, who said the suspect, Joseph Burke, was lying on the ground near the residence.
“[Joseph] was definitely drunk, intoxicated,” added Fly. “At the time, he was laid out and appeared to be unconscious.”
After searching and securing Joseph Burke, the deputy went to the victim, who was unresponsive, Fly explained.
Tallahatchie County Coroner Ginger Meriwether later pronounced Lacey Burke dead at the scene, and her body was sent for autopsy, Fly added.
During a canvass of the property by other deputies, a 9 mm pistol was found on the front porch of the home, the sheriff said, noting that the handgun was sent to the crime lab for forensic analysis.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was called in Saturday night to assist with processing of the crime scene, Fly added.
Joseph Burke was initially taken into custody Saturday night for investigation. He was formally charged on Sunday, the sheriff noted.
Fly said there were no eyewitnesses to the shooting, explaining that the victim’s son, Caleb, was “in the yard and heard the shot but he didn’t actually see” the incident.
A motive for the shooting has not yet been established, and the case remains under investigation, Fly noted.
“I hate it,” he said. “They’re brother and sister. They’re all family. Plus I know them all, too. It’s a bad situation.”
IN THE PHOTO: Joseph Cameron Burke is charged with the June 22 shooting death of his sister. (Photo courtesy Tallahatchie County Sheriff's Office)
