By Chuck Hustmyre
(Continued)
Although original reports indicated Burns lives at the apartment complex in Chandler where Jackie's clothes were found in a trash bin, later reports confirmed he lives in a house in the 2500 block of West Kilarea Avenue in Mesa, just a few blocks from the apartment complex.
According to police, Burns lives with his fiancee, Mandi Elaine Smith, and his brother, Daniel Raymond Barnett. When police searched the filth-strewn house, they found five pit bulls living there.
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| Jonathan Ian Burns |
"Officers were having to step out on a regular basis to get fresh air," a police spokesman told The Arizona Republic.
Police did not say what, if any, evidence they found during the search but did confirm they had seized two vehicles.
Homicide prosecutions without a body are not all that common, but they have been successful in the past.
"It's much easier if you have a body that reflects evidence of homicide, but you can still use other circumstantial evidence to prove (murder)," said Sally Wells, chief assistant county attorney for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
Wells said she is confident in the evidence the police have collected. "We would not have gone forward with the case if we didn't feel (we) could get a conviction," she told the East Valley Tribune.
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