The prison parolee accused of murdering his girlfriend’s 8-year-old son on Monday is now back in Pennsylvania where the crime happened.
Keith Burley has been formally charged in Lawrence County with the boy’s kidnapping and murder, as well as two counts of felonious assault, simple assault and unlawful restraint.
The 43-year-old New Castle man made his initial appearance in a New Castle courtroom around 2:00PM on Thursday.
As Burley was escorted out of the courtroom by Pennsylvania State Troopers, news reporters asked him, “Did you commit these horrible acts? What do you have to say about the child?”
Burley didn’t utter a word as State Police put him in a vehicle to transport him to the Lawrence County Jail.
According to witnesses, Burley stabbed eight-year-old Markie Mason to death inside a home at 60 High Street in Union Township and yelled “Die, die,” as the boy’s young brother ran to a neighbor for help. Pennsylvania State Police say this all happened after an argument between Burley and his girlfriend, who was also the child’s mother.
Bill Greenawalt, a friend of Burley’s for more than twenty years tells 21 News, “It’s sad man. A little child lost his life and then to know that your friend – thinking that he got himself right, would have you know turned out to do something like this. It doesn’t sit well with me.”
