Police investigate murder of 100yr old woman www.privateofficer.com

Police investigate murder of 100 yr old woman http://www.privateofficer.com

Suffolk County NY Sept 2 2008
The Suffolk County police’s search of the North Haven spread where a 100-year-old woman was shot and killed will continue through the night, Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick said Monday.Jessie Burke was fatally shot in the head Sunday while sitting in a recliner in her living room, police said.

A crossword puzzle was found nearby.Family members were shocked by the news.

“This is insane,” said Burke’s granddaughter, Briana Burke of Burbank, Calif. “Something has happened to my grandmother and it has not been disclosed what it is.”
Burke’s Payne Avenue home, which police said is owned by her daughter, Jean Burke, sits on 2.9 acres and was assessed this year at $1.2 million, according to Southampton Town records.Jean Burke discovered her mother dead in the chair Sunday afternoon after returning from an hour-long shopping trip, Fitzpatrick said.

Police have questioned Burke, along with several others, but have made no arrests.

Fitzpatrick said he does not expect to make an arrest in the case on Monday.

No one has been arrested or charged thus far.There were no signs of a break-in, and there was nothing missing from the home; it is unclear whether the home was locked. Fitzpatrick wouldn’t comment on evidence found at the scene, or say anything about the weapon involved.He described Jessie Burke as “spry” and “mentally nimble.”

Family members told police she prepared her own meals and did a crossword puzzle every day, he said.While the case is being investigated as a homicide, Fitzpatrick said it defies typical circumstances.”

A 100-year-old woman being shot is unique no matter what area it happens,” he said.North Haven is a sleepy village of 743 between Sag Harbor and the Shelter Island ferry terminal, and Jean Burke was its primary political gadfly.

She ran an insurgent mayoral campaign in 1994 because she disagreed with how the village was handling a surge in the deer population.

Though she lost the mayoral race, Burke continued to appear at village board meetings and was often critical of how elected officials handled municipal affairs, said Fred Stelle, an architect who has served as deputy mayor and as a village trustee.Stelle described Jean Burke as a physically imposing woman who stands about 5-foot-10.

A former corrections officer, she was believed to have spent nearly all of her time caring for her elderly mother, Stelle said.”She always spoke very forcefully about whatever issues were concerning her,” Stelle said.

“She tended to be very certain about whatever issue she was concerned about.”

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.

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