Four months later, State Police say probe into Rochester man's killing still 'active and ongoing'

Mike Burns (Courtesy photo)

AUGUSTA, Maine - State Police said on Wednesday that the investigation into a Rochester man's death in Saco last September is ongoing and active, but nothing more.

The short seven-word message "No new developments ... remains under active investigation" came after a request from The Rochester Voice seeking more details regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of Mike Burns.

The State Police spokesman, Stephen McCausland, made the brief reply after a deputy attorney general who spoke to The Rochester Voice in December refused comment.

Burns, 54, a well-respected and beloved local Boy Scout troop leader, was killed on the front porch of a Saco duplex early the morning of Sept. 30 by a single gunshot wound to the head.

Burns, the father of two young men serving in the military, worked as a self-employed computer technician.

Police have released little more than what was disclosed in their initial press release, which said police had identified the man who shot Burns and that there were two other men in the house at the time. Detectives said the man who shot Burns was the one who called police.

But to this date, police have refused to release any other details pertaining to the circumstances surrounding the shooting, and there have been no arrests. Based on a coroner's examination, however, it has been announced that it was a homicide, which means Burns' fatal wound was not self-inflicted.

Among notable information police have not released is whether there was a search warrant or consent search effected in the house where the shooting occurred, what type of weapon was used, whether any of the men in the house knew each other and if further interviews or toxicology report results are pending.

Police have said that all three of the men in the house at the time of Burns' death have been interviewed at least once.

Lisa Marchese, a deputy attorney general and chief of the Criminal Division, said in December that there was a limit on what can be released citing fears of jeopardizing possible further investigation or interviews.

She said that the state would not want to have those possible future interviews to be tainted through press accounts.

She also cited possible privacy issues, adding, "It could be inappropriate to have a discussion of the facts of the case when you have real people involved."

Marchese at the time also said there is no timetable for a possible resolution of the case and further release of information, but added that, "Eventually the public will understand."

At the time of the December interview Marchese said she understood the interest by the media in the case and said she expected subsequent queries on the case's advancement, but earlier this week she failed to respond to numerous phone calls. Her office on Wednesday instructed The Rochester Voice that McCausland would answer any questions.