Two victims of a cold case homicide in McAlester identified nearly 3 decades after death
McALESTER — State investigators are seeking the public's help for leads in a cold case after finally identifying a Texas couple found shot to death 28 years ago in rural southeastern Oklahoma.
On April 9, 1995, the badly decomposed bodies of a man and a woman were discovered by a guardrail under a tree near Crowder Point in Pittsburg County. The man had been shot once in the chest and the woman twice, and investigators believed the two were killed and dumped by travelers who were on nearby U.S. 69.
A nationwide bulletin was issued after the bodies were found, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation released forensic facial reconstructions of the two using clay faces. But despite numerous tips from Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, no conclusive identifications were made, the McAlester News-Capital reported.
In November 1995, the bodies were buried in Dorsey Cemetery on the north side of Lake McAlester. They remained unidentified for decades until a cold case unit formed by Pittsburg County Sheriff Chris Morris had the pair exhumed in 2019.
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Morris requested OSBI assistance with the case, and in 2021 forensic scientists with OSBI sent a specimen from one of the bodies to Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based company, for DNA testing. By September 2022, investigators believed they likely had identified the pair.
OSBI agents also traveled to Ohio and Texas to interview and collect DNA samples from people believed to be related to the victims. After extensive interviews and additional DNA testing from multiple agencies, authorities now believe the two victims were Brian Burr, 23, and his wife, Rachel Burr, 21, both of Texas.
The investigation encompassed several states and agencies. OSBI and Pittsburg County law enforcement were also assisted by the Oklahoma chief medical examiner's office, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Parabon NanoLabs, Texas Rangers and the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification.
Investigators in 1995 believed the man later identified as Brian Burr to be 5-foot-7 inches tall, of medium build, with short blond or light brown hair and tattoos on both arms. The woman later identified as Rachel Burr was described as being 5-foot-6, of slender build, with long light brown or blond hair.
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Investigators are asking anyone with information regarding the case to contact the OSBI at 800-522-8017 or tips@osbi.ok.gov.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Texas couple identified as victims of 1995 McAlester cold case killing
