Burns' family, Dover attorney not buying police version in Rochester man's death

Dover Attorney Alfred T. Catalfo in front of the Nye Street duplex where Mike Burns was fatally shot. Inset, Mike Burns and the knife which he allegedly used to threaten a woman and the shooter. (Courtesy photos)

Maine State Police and the state Attorney General's Office may have wrapped up their case involving a Rochester man killed in a Saco, Maine, duplex last September, but for the family of the respected computer technician and beloved Boy Scout leader who was killed, it is far from over.

In a story first reported in The Rochester Voice on Sept. 11, Maine State Police said they had closed their case in the Sept. 30 killing of 54-year-old Mike Burns, which they say occurred when he threatened the tenant of the duplex with a knife. The tenant then shot fatally Burns three times, twice in the torso and once in the head.

The official police version of the story is that Burns went to the home at 26 Nye St. looking to pay for sex after answering a Craigslist ad. Police say he paid a woman there $100, but she then refused sex and a man (not the shooter) came into the room and told him to leave.

Burns is said to have left, retrieved a knife from his vehicle and returned to the duplex and threatened the woman whereupon the shooter, the tenant, killed him in self defense.

Police have not released any of the names of the three principals involved that night, but Dover Attorney Alfred T. Catalfo said he and Burns' family intend to get to the bottom of this and expressed incredulity with the official version of events.

"The allegation that (Burns) ... somehow became so enraged over being robbed of $100 that he went on a violent rampage, made threats and attempted to force his way into the residence at 26 Nye Street, resulting in him being shot and killed in self-defense, is not only out of character for him but simply unbelievable," Catalfo said in a statement sent the Portland Press Herald and Foster's Daily Democrat on Thursday.

Catalfo sent a copy of the statement to The Rochester Voice on Saturday after learning it had first broken the story on Sept. 11, six days prior to the Portland Press Herald and well before Foster's.

In the four-page statement Catalfo lays out his reasons for doubting the police version, which relies in large degree upon the statements made by the alleged prostitute, the tenant who pulled the trigger and the third unnamed man, whom Catalfo identified as a felon and parolee, who, according to police, was found under a bed in the duplex when police arrived.

The statement also includes new details of what police believe occurred that night gleaned by Burns' family members briefed at the conclusion of the investigation last month.

According to Catalfo, police believe that when Burns first met the woman he paid her $100, but then a man entered the room and told Burns to leave.

Burns left the home without physical confrontation, but may have made verbal threats, according to Catalfo's statement.

The man who told Burns to leave also left the home at the same time. Burns then went to his truck and retrieved a pocket knife, a bag of tools that did not contain any weapons and a 5-gallon bucket of "pull cord," which is used for fishing computer network wires through a building, part of Burns' job as a computer technician.

When Burns returned to the home, he was met for the first time by the gunman on the front lawn. The man had just returned from a convenience store to buy alcohol, according to the statement by Catalfo.

"Mr. Burns allegedly told the man he was going to kill him and burn the house down," Catalfo wrote. "There are no witnesses to this other than the shooter, who is claiming self-defense."

Catalfo said the gunman then retreated through an enclosed front porch and into the residence, but Burns followed him into the porch, leaving his tools and bucket of pull cord outside.

The gunman closed the front door between the house and the porch, but Burns was able to fight through the door using his pocket knife. From this scuffle, the gunman is said to have suffered a single cut on his arm from the knife, according to Catalfo.

Catalfo said Burns followed the gunman down a hallway near the back of the building, where Burns was ultimately shot three times, twice in the chest and once in the head. The rounds were fired from between 1 foot and 3 feet away.

State Police maintained that Burns died of a single gunshot wound to the head for almost a year until telling The Rochester Voice on Sept. 11 he'd been shot three times.

Catalfo noted on Sunday that two (bullets) in the torso and one in the head are widely known method of ensuring a fatal outcome.

There are many other inconsistencies and questionable findings made by State Police, Catalfo said.

Some of those include

First, Catalfo believes Burns was shot in the back of the head; he said one of his sons said he saw his dad's face prior to burial and it was intact. Being shot in the back of the head is not consistent with self defense, Catalfo noted.

Second, Catalfo said one detective called it a clear-cut case of self defense, and clear-cut cases of self defense don't take a year to settle.

Third, an evidence envelope containing Burns' wallet indicates it was found on a back stairwell, while the official story is he was killed on the enclosed porch.

Fourth, according to the official story, Burns and the shooter did not meet and had no interaction until after Burns was robbed of $100, went back to his truck, allegedly came back and attempted to re-enter the house. At this point the shooter supposedly had no idea who Burns was or why he was there. Additionally, the shooter who was allowing the man and woman who apparently robbed Burns to use his apartment, also claims had had no knowledge as to their activities.

Fifth, As Burns is deceased, the official story is only supported by three remaining principals: the tenant/shooter, the man said to be a convict and parolee who first told Burns to leave and the alleged prostitute.

Sixth, why would Burns take a bag of tools and bucket of pull cord from his truck in the midst of all this. Catalfo theorized that it makes no sense and sounds like "perpetrators concocting a story on the fly with limited items from the truck that could be quickly attributable to Mr. Burns."

Catalfo said he and Burns family have their own theory of what happened that night.

"It is our theory that Mr. Burns never left the house, and that he was robbed and killed there," he said in the statement, adding the case warrants further investigation and they are considering a civil suit against the perpetrators "in which we intend to get to the bottom of this tragic event."

It should also be noted that The Rochester Voice published portions of the 911 transcript when it was called in by the shooter.

The transcript, which was obtained in late July by The Rochester Voice, begins with a 911 dispatch specialist asking "What's the address of your emergency," to which the caller replies, "Some guy was tryin' to break in my house and stab me."

The 911 dispatcher then asks for the caller's home town.

"I shot him. I shot him," he replies.

While the transcript, itself, proves nothing, it indicates for the first time a possible motive, however bizarre or inexplicable, in the death of Mike Burns, a mild-mannered, self-employed computer technician and father of two who had been a Rochester Boy Scouts troop leader, The Rochester Voice reported at the time.

About two weeks later, in mid-August, McCausland said State Police decided to close the case with a self-defense explanation for Burns' death, however, The Rochester Voice wasn't notified of the decision till Sept. 11.

On Sunday Catalfo said his next step will be a Right to Know request for the police to turn over the case file.

He added they are prepared to pursue wrongful death lawsuits against the principals involved and may subpoena them as well as others.

"Our first hope is that law enforcement will take another look," Catalfo said.

That doesn't appear likely, however, according to State Police Spokesman Steve McCausland, who said again today the Attorney General has closed the case with no charges and State Police have ended their investigation.