GUILTY MA - Mary 'Terry' Burhoe, 14, murdered, Charlestown, 11 July 1981

BOSTON (AP) — A quarter century after 14-year-old Mary T. Burhoe was stabbed to death and left in the high grass along the Mystic River, a former suspect in the crime is headed to prison. Investigators knew about the blood stain on the girl's jeans back in the 1980s, but they didn't have the technology to connect it to her killer.




It wasn't until 2000 that DNA testing was able to lead them to Patrick John Durham.

Durham, now 43, pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter and was sentenced to 19 to 20 years in prison for the teenager's death. Prosecutors initially charged him with murder but said the manslaughter plea was their best chance of conviction.

"I only hope that today's events bring some degree of finality and sense of justice to the loss they (Burhoe's family) will endure for the rest of their lives," Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said.

Burhoe had been stabbed more than 100 times. Her body was found in July 1981, about a half-mile from where she had last been seen with Durham and others the night before.

Durham, then 18, had long been a suspect and was originally charged with threatening the girl with a knife that night, but the case against him was dismissed for lack of evidence.
http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/ap/0206/1808_guilty_slaying_girl.html
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I bet DNA has a lot of *advertiser censored**holes scared after reading how some of these cold cases are being solved .how does he stab this poor girl 100 times and get off with manslaughter?

Manslaughter for stabbing the victim 100 times. Sometimes I don't get it. :hand:

JMHO
fran

That sounds like a cop out to me. What jury in their right mind wouldn't convict with 100 stab wounds. There's more to it than reported but could just be saving the family from a trial or the cost to taxpayers, I don't know but I certainly don't consider that justice for that poor girl and her family.

aussiegran said:

Durham, now 43, pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter and was sentenced to 19 to 20 years in prison for the teenager's death. Prosecutors initially charged him with murder but said the manslaughter plea was their best chance of conviction.

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Why was manslaughter their best chance when the guy had pled GUILTY???
They made a deal with him so that he would plead guilty...that is why he got manslaughter....bet money on that.

I am happy that there has FINALLY been an arrest, althoughI do not agree with sentencing... Atleast the family has some answers now.

strach304 said:

That sounds like a cop out to me. What jury in their right mind wouldn't convict with 100 stab wounds. There's more to it than reported but could just be saving the family from a trial or the cost to taxpayers, I don't know but I certainly don't consider that justice for that poor girl and her family.

Click to expand...

There was no jury trial. It was a plea deal with the DA' s office.