Town Exhales after Serial Killer Shot Dead

But Murders Leave South Carolina Residents Confused Over Killer's Motive

(AP)  People terrorized by a serial killer who shot five people to death in their small community were relieved after police said they killed the man responsible.

But with his death, an answer to why he launched the bloody spree remains unknown.

"I still want to know why he did it," said truck driver Matt Brown, 55, of Gaffney. "Why he killed so many innocent people. I guess we'll never know."

His wife, Gina, 53, clutched her husband's arm. "Thank God it's over," she said. "We spent a lot of sleepless nights wondering who was next."

Suspected killer Patrick Burris, 41, was a career criminal paroled just two months ago, authorities said. He was shot to death by officers investigating a burglary complaint at a home in Gastonia, North Carolina, 30 miles (48 kilometres) from where the killing spree started June 27.

Two people who were with Burris were taken into custody, then released, police said.

They were identified as Mark Stamey, 35, and his sister Sharon Stamey, 31. Police described them as transients who had a drug and criminal past.

Investigators said they had no idea why Burris did it.

"He was unpredictable. He was scary. He was weird," said Neil Dolan, deputy director of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Ballistics tests showed Burris's gun matched the one that killed residents in and around Gaffney over six days last week, SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd said.

Burris had a long rap sheet filled with convictions for larceny, forgery and breaking and entering in states across the Southeast, including Florida, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. He had been paroled from a North Carolina prison in April after serving almost eight years.

"Look at this," Lloyd said, waving a stapled copy of Burris' criminal record. "This is like 25 pages. At some point the criminal justice system is going to need to explain why this suspect was out on the street."

Gaffney farmer Sam Howell, 61, was among dozens of people from Cherokee County at the news conference where authorities identified Burris.

"My prayers were answered. He got what he deserved," Howell said. "He scared the hell out of everyone. I guess we can feel better but we've lost some of our innocence."

People who normally kept their doors open and welcomed strangers stopped trusting their own neighbours.

Gina Brown said she spent many sleepless nights worried about her family's safety. She called the couple's four adult children, who still live in the area, every night to tell them she loved them and make sure they were safe.

"They thought I was crazy, but they understood," she said.

The mystery ended in Gastonia early Monday after Mike and Terri Valentine called police to report a suspicious sport utility vehicle in their neighbourhood.

The Valentines were on edge because the Gaffney serial killer was just a short drive away.

They watched two people who sometimes visit the neighbouring home get out of the vehicle, followed by a third man who matched the description of the killer: tall, heavyset, unshaven and wearing a baseball cap. The man appeared to be very drunk, Mike Valentine said.

When officers arrived and went inside, Terri Valentine said she heard someone yell "put it down" and heard a gunshot.

Then "bam, bam, bam, bam. Next thing I know, all of Gaston County was here," she said.

Gaston County police said the other two people were in custody, but did not indicate whether they were facing charges. The county is 50 miles (80 kilometres) west of Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Gaffney killings happened in a 10-mile area over six days.

[presjfk]

WHY WAS THIS GUY OUT OF JAIL? Our system doesn't give a damn about the public's safety. The judge, the parole board, whoever let this guy out of jail should be front page news and yet we have heard nothing about who let him go.

This guy and countless others with rap sheets a mile long should be destroyed like rabid animals. But our stupid system let's them free to arm themselves and wage yet another war against innocents. The war is largely ignored by the media and by most people, except the victims. Then when lives have been lost, society has been irreparably damaged, these criminals and murderers are sometimes found in the midst of a crime spree, maybe mass killings behind them, and then if we are lucky these criminals are finally shot dead. What a stupid, unfair, idiotic system.

[fuzzyi]

Sigh,,,this is how the "great american empire" is going to collapse, from within, moral disintergration...

[gunownerdan]

It's a shame one of his victims couldn't stop him first.
People with rap sheets a mile long are let out of jail all the time.
It is our right and DUTY to protect ourselves from dangerous people!
Self Defense...
A-HUMAN-RIGHT.com

[presjfk]

"Sigh,,,this is how the "great american empire" is going to collapse, from within, moral disintergration..."

There is no doubt we as a nation will be the cause of our own demise. No outside country need attack us, no terrorist need to scare us, in the end our stupid majority and corrupt government will bring the nation to extinction.

[gunownerdan]

It's a shame one of his victims couldn't stop him first.
People with rap sheets a mile long are let out of jail all the time.
It is our right and DUTY to protect ourselves from dangerous people!
Self Defense...
A-HUMAN-RIGHT.com

[presjfk]

The only problem is that the average Joe with a gun is a moron. A moron with a gun might be able to defend himself but also get an innocent killed in the process.

Do you know how much damage and how far a .45 can do? A .45 can go through a lot of apartment walls before stopping- or go out the wall of a house and travel through the neighbors house and maybe several neighbors homes before it might hit someone. Or even a relatively tiny .22? A .22 bullet can travel a mile or more.

The better answer to everyone carrying a gun is to have a law enforcement and justice system that works! Out system is a joke.

[gunownerdan]

It's a shame one of his victims couldn't stop him first.
People with rap sheets a mile long are let out of jail all the time.
It is our right and DUTY to protect ourselves from dangerous people!
Self Defense...
A-HUMAN-RIGHT.com

[babooph]

The prisons are filled with poor & middle class drug addicts[mandatory sentencing],[Rush & the like do not get the mandatory 30 years ,just a few months probation];violent criminals are let out to make more room for dopers.What a mess !

[gunownerdan]

That's why I support LEAP.cc(Law Enforcement Against Prohibition).

[TryTakingMyMoney]

Due to overcrowding this guy was released early in NC for a felony. In 2008 (24) were released early for 1st degree murder, (27) released in 2007 and (21) released in 2006. Sadly this is happening all over the country. Folks what does this tell you? It tells me we have a broke system in America and that you should have a gun by your side at all times regardless of what liberals think. Continue to support the 2nd amendment!

[bajajohn1]

Sounds like this was another disgruntled Republican congressman hellbent on revenge.

[excoachken]

Will you guys ever get the story straight? He was not a "Serial Killer," like Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy. He was a "Spree Killer" like Eric Harris at Columbine. Do some research before you post inaccurate headlines like this.

[ritad7]

He looks Hispanic is he an illegal alien? Probably.

[bajajohn1]

Nope, you dope, he looks like a redneck.

[presjfk]

This is just one example of thousands where the system puts the public at risk releasing dangerous criminals. With this rap sheet, this guy should never had seen the light of day but there he was on the streets. Our system sucks.

[presjfk]

He doesn't look Hispanic, doesn't have a Hispanic name. Also, most serial killers are white like this guy. What do you have to say now?

[drthvader]

I have seen sketches that looked more like the perp than this one. If this is the shooter with a long rap sheet, why did they let him out of jail?

[SusanStoHelit]

Because he hadn't done enough yet to be kept in jail. Robbery - sooner or later you have to let them out.

[mkbjon]

by justcurious777 July 7, 2009 10:17 AM PDT
If law enforcement really did what you suggest (kill/frame an innocent man), why did Burris shoot at the police to start with? Even if he is/was innoncent of the serial killings, he's guilty of something even if it's only attempted burglary AND attempted murder of a cop. That's why he was shot and killed - he was shooting at police officers and they shot back!


There is actually nothing in the article that says the defendant fired at the cops. It says someone yelled "put it down" and that there were several gunshots. Now, maybe he did, and that would give the police reason to shoot him, but you shouldn't just assume things and then state them as fact. They were investigating a burglary complaint made by the neighbors. The other two people with him (described as transient junkies) were released, and the only way I can figure out how that happened is if they were "forced" by him to go there. But the neighbors said that he appeared very drunk, so there is a lot that hasn't been explained.

[mkbjon]

Yeahhhh...right. I hope this is the guy, because from the information so far, it seems kind of iffy. He was extremely drunk, shot in a home that was visited often by the other two people that he was with, and they were released? Was it a burglary or not? I know the police were under a lot of pressure to solve this case, but I hope that they aren't jumping the gun, no pun intended. Didn't the eyewitness say he was white? He doesn't really look white to me. I guess he could just be really tan but his lips are reminiscent of a black man's. And save any outraged comments, because I'm black, and I am not being racist. He may be the culprit, and if he is I hope he fries, but I wouldn't relax just yet if I lived there.

[debinok1]

My point has been made several times. This man does not look like the sketch that was released. I realize that the photo is undated, but unless this man has had plastic surgery, it is not the same man.

[rwsmith29456]

Sounds like enough matched up to suspect him, but he fired first and died for it. As far as the composite picture goes I've NEVER seen one that matched the perpetrator. (Personally I think they use the same sketch all the time). Anyway, I'll bet they got the right guy and I'm happy about it.

[hungry1968-16]

That doesn't look ANYTHING like the "wanted poster" they circulated earlier.

It doesn't even come CLOSE!!

[SusanStoHelit]

I'd say it does. Similar features. Fairly generic faces for both of them, but that's why eyewitness testimony is so awful - it's hard to describe and define a face.

[ralpherus]

I would be willing to be ten dollars (usually I say a dollar) that if the folks who saw him and detailed to the sketch artists who made the wanted poster saw the picture of the man himself, and they thought it looked like someone else entirely two things:1- that they would say loud and clear- NOT HIM, KEEP LOOKING!! and 2: that if someone did say that, the police would keep looking! DUH! you truly think a good American cop would settle for the wrong murder-spree perpetrator? Come down from the euphoric high you get from making slanderous accusations like 9/11 was an inside job, bush started the war, and all the crazy wack job stuff that helped traitors take over the government, and tune in to the here and now!

[horse3farm]

Interesting that he had a rap sheet 25 pages long, and not one of those crimes was for murder. He doesn't resemble the sketch very well. But maybe it's an old photo. I sure hope they are right, and he was the killer, but his past crimes don't seem to add up to a killing spree.

[uncertain7]

They were reportedly looking for a man about 6'2 230 lbs...Mr Burris was 6'6 and about 275 lbs at least. The picture that was released of him (the one that is clearer)is exactly what he looked like when he was released from the DOC and in my opinion looked NOTHING like the sketch. I am not saying that he was an "innocent" man...but I will say that I won't be surprised to read that the killing spree ain't over yet! As I stated I don't believe that he was an innocent man, however I am NOT convinced that he is guilty of this....

[anti-global2]

I don't know if i believe this is the killer, but I am all for killing people who steal and break into homes or businesses so I'm glad he's dead.

[ralpherus]

All the "journalists" who pined away at Americans in Gaffney arming themselves, rather than at the loss of innocent folks' lives, should be fired. Everywhere they go, they should be heckled and sour fruit should be thrown at them. Diane Sawyer comes to mind. Who watches katie any more? Did she do it too? Oh MY! You bought, a ....a ....GUN?!?!?!?