FERGUS FALLS, Minn. -- The defense for man accused of killing his nephew said none of the state’s evidence can explain what happened or prove that it was Michael Alan Burris who murdered Scott Burris.
ADVERTISEMENT
Public defender Tracy Mitchell and Assistant Otter Tail County Attorney Michelle Eldien gave opening statements Wednesday in the trial of Michael Alan Burris is accused of murdering his nephew, Scott Burris, who died from a single gunshot wound in May 2012.
His son, Michael Kyle Burris, admitted to helping his father dispose of his cousin’s dead body in May 2012. The 24-year-old Burris pleaded guilty in August to aiding an offender-accomplice after the fact of murder.
In Eldien’s opening statement, the prosecutor gave a straightforward timeline of the events in Scott Burris’ disappearance and death.
The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office investigation started in May 24, 2012, when an abandoned vehicle with blood inside was found north of Elizabeth in Otter Tail County. Scott Burris, 33, was listed as a missing person until he was found June 15, 2012, in the Otter Tail River west of Orwell Dam.
According to the criminal complaints, an inmate in the Otter Tail County jail told authorities that around March 2012, Michael Kyle Burris said he and his dad killed his cousin because of a drug debt in which Scott Burris reportedly owed his uncle about $20,000.
Ten woman and two men will determine whether or not Michael Allan Burris is guilty of murder.
