Rebecca "Becky" Burke was a woman found murdered in northern DeKalb County, Georgia on September 17, 1993. She may have also gone by the surnames McChesney or Barnes.
She was identified with the help of Othram in January 2023.
Case[]
Becky Burke was discovered covered in pine straw and branches in a wooded area behind a Fairfield Inn on Ranchwood Drive, near Lavista Road and Interstate 285. Her shirt was pulled inside over her head and midway down the torso, and her jeans were unfastened and completely unzipped at the waist, suggesting she was sexually assaulted. Investigators believe the cause of death was homicide due to blunt force trauma, as her maxilla and orbital rim were confirmed to be fractured, and possibly her neck too. No identification or jewelry could be found at the scene.
In 2022, the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office sent forensic evidence to Othram to help identify Burke or at least a close relative. Othram was able to develop and extract suitable DNA for comparison and returned the profile to investigators and the FBI genealogy teams at the Atlanta and Baltimore offices.
In January 2023, Becky was finally identified. She would have been 52 at the time of her death and is thought to have been living in Smyrna or Marietta, both in Cobb County, Georgia. Her identification was publicly announced on March 22, 2023.
Characteristics[]
- Long and curly light brown hair with frosted appearance.
- Extensive dental work including a fixed gold bridge, two gold crowns, and both upper teeth fused to metal crowns.
- Full left hip replacement that repaired an intertrochanteric fracture of the left hip.
- Stainless steel orthopedic plate present on lateral aspect of the left femur.
Clothing[]
- Black T-shirt with multi-colored design logo on front reading "WAIKOLOA" and an inside collar label reading KLM Dome, size L.
- Blue denim jeans.
- White cross-training-type shoes with red and blue stripes with the sole of the left shoe marked XJ900, size 8.
Gallery[]
