Skeletal remains discovered in Florida shallow grave in 2007 are identified as 39-year-old Jeana Lynn Burrus who was never reported missing: Husband James named ‘person of interest’
Skeletal remains discovered in a shallow grave in 2007 have been identified as a 39-year-old Florida woman who was never reported missing — as police search for her husband.
Jeana Lynn Burrus, who lived in Sarasota with her husband and son, was identified Wednesday through DNA technology, marking a major breakthrough in the case that had been cold for 16 years.
Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) said the case was complicated by the fact that she was never reported missing, so her whereabouts were not on detectives’ radar.
Jeana lived on the 6200 block of Pauline Avenue in the Southwest Florida coastal city with her husband, James Burrus, now 57, and their son James Burrus Jr, now 26.
Skeletal remains discovered in a shallow grave in 2007 have been identified as 39-year-old Florida woman Jeana Lynn Burrus, who was never reported missing
Burrus, who lived in Sarasota with her husband and son (pictured), was identified Wednesday through DNA technology, marking a major breakthrough in the case that had been cold for 16 years. Her husband James Burrus has now been labeled a ‘person of interest’ by police
SCSO said Jeana was unemployed, while her husband worked at a local body shop on the 5600 block of Sarah Avenue in Sarasota, and their son attended Gulf Gate Elementary School
Her remains were found about three miles away in a wooded area of Ashton Ct. on February 6, 2007.
The investigation into the circumstances of her death remained cold until November 2022, when the SCSO, in conjunction with DNA Labs International Inc, used advances in DNA testing and genetic genealogy to re-examine the remains.
The police announced the results on Wednesday and called on anyone who knew Jeana, her husband or son to come forward.
SCSO said Jeana was unemployed while her husband worked at a local body shop at the 5600 block of Sarah Avenue in Sarasota and their son was present Gulf Gate Elementary School between 2005-06.
Before living in Sarasota County, the couple lived in Citrus County, Florida, and Frederick, Maryland.
Jeana was involved in a serious road accident in 2003 when she was 35, according to a local newspaper report.
a Tampa Bay Times An article from August of that year stated that she was traveling west on Cypress Boulevard when her 1996 Chevrolet went off the road and flipped over.
She was thrown from the vehicle by the impact and lost consciousness shortly after the accident, before walking half a mile to a residence for help.
Jeana lived with her family on Pauline Avenue in the coastal city of Sarasota in southwest Florida
A sheriff’s deputy visited the home where she was sheltering, and medics later took her by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital.
Jeana was summoned for not having a valid driver’s license, driving carelessly, having an expired ticket and not carrying proof of insurance, the report said.
While police search for information related to her death, anyone with knowledge of Jeana or her family is asked to contact SCSO Detective Brian Ng at 941 861 4900.
The DNA discovery comes after the Florida murder victim who was known only as “Trunk Lady” for 53 years was finally also identified through genetic evidence.
“Trunk Lady” was so named because she was discovered in a trunk in a Florida field on Halloween Day 1969 after being strangled with a Bolo tie.
Thanks to DNA breakthroughs, she was identified by St. Petersburg police in May as 41-year-old Sylvia June Atherton, the mother of five from Arizona.
Police said the investigation began more than half a century ago, when two teenagers reported seeing two white men take a suitcase out of a pickup truck at 4200 block, 32nd Street South, then Oyster Bar.
Officers arrived on the scene and found a woman’s body wrapped in plastic and wearing nothing but a pajama top in the trunk.
‘Trunk Lady’: The cold case that has puzzled police for 53 years has finally been partially solved by the identification of the victim as Sylvia June Atherton
They investigated, but no leads were found, and the incident became one of St. Petersburg’s oldest cold cases.
This was until May 2023, when police announced they’d identified ‘Trunk Lady’ after more than half a century thanks to DNA breakthroughs – though her killer is still unknown.