A homicide suspect who broke out of a northwestern Pennsylvania prison last year and evaded arrest until a pet dog played a crucial role in his capture, will serve a decades-long prison sentence.
On Friday, a Warren County judge sentenced Michael Burham, 35, to serve from 25-plus years to 50-plus years after the defendant’s guilty plea for a July jail escape and the kidnapping of a Pennsylvania couple.
Describing Burham as a “grave threat to the public,” Judge Gregory Hammond emphasized the lasting impact of Burham’s actions during sentencing, ABC 6 reports. Hammond highlighted the trauma experienced by the kidnapping victims, identified as an 89-year-old and 68-year-old.
Burham, a “self-taught survivalist” according to police, is the prime suspect in the rape and shooting death of Kala Hodgkin, 34. She was found deceased in her Jamestown, New York, home on May 11. He’s also accused of setting fire to another woman’s car that same day.
Burham remained in the area for more than a week after Hodgkin’s murder, then reportedly kidnapped the couple from their home in Sheffield at gunpoint and drove them to South Carolina in their car.
The couple was later found safe, but Burham avoided capture for days hiding in the woods. He was arrested but escaped from the Warren County Jail on July 7.
Warren County spokesperson Cecile Stelter said Burham escaped from the jail’s recreation yard by “elevating himself” atop exercise equipment and then going through a metal-grated roof. He lowered himself to the ground using tied-together bedsheets and fled into the woods on foot, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Then, a 6-year-old chocolate lab named Tucker found Burham in the backyard of a Warren County, Pennsylvania home. Tucker began barking loudly, alerting his owners, who contacted police. Responding officers captured Burham and took him into custody after nearly two weeks on the run.
“You’ll do anything to anybody to maintain your freedom,” Hammond continued. “Your rehabilitative needs are through the roof.”
“Everyone in the community changed the way they lived their live. They know you were capable of victimizing a law-abiding couple in their own home.”
Burham was sentenced on charges that included kidnapping, terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person, burglary, escape, and, theft by unlawful taking.
Meanwhile, Hodgkin’s murder is still under investigation in New York. At the time of her death, Burham had been wanted in connection with allegedly raping her. They also share a daughter, according to court filings.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Lab/Pixabay; Burham/Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office]
