I don't know why but this story reminds creepily reminds me of greg or eek...
‘Cookie bandit' a B.C. cold case killer
Suspected murderer who belonged to religious cult and identified himself at “Job” dies in shootout with police in New Mexico
‘Cookie bandit' a B.C. cold case killer
Jill Colvin
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Last updated on Monday, Jul. 20, 2009 11:46PM EDT
One of Canada's most wanted criminals, an American draft dodger who eluded police for over three decades after murdering a young couple in British Columbia, is dead after killing a police officer in a shootout in a New Mexico cabin.
New Mexico State Police have identified a petty thief dubbed the “Cookie Bandit” as Joseph Henry Burgess, wanted for the brutal slaying of Leif Carlsson, 21, and Ann Durrant, 20, on a Vancouver Island beach in 1972.
RCMP Corporal Darren Lagan of Island District RCMP in Victoria said Canadian authorities were informed Monday that Mr. Burgess had been shot and killed last Thursday in a gun battle with two Sandoval County sheriff's deputies.
Over the past six years, the “Cookie Bandit” had been breaking into cabins in New Mexico's Sandoval County, stealing food, alcohol and other items.
Investigators told local media that two sheriff's deputies were conducting a stakeout in a cabin near where the burglaries had occurred early Thursday when Mr. Burgess broke in through a window.
The three began fighting hand-to-hand and shots were fired. Investigators said Mr. Burgess fired first and one of the deputies, Sergeant Joe Harris, fired back, killing Mr. Burgess. Sgt. Harris died in hospital hours later from wounds sustained in the fight.
Mr. Burgess is believed to have killed at least two other people before fleeing to the New Mexico wilderness.
In June of 1972, Mr. Carlsson and Ms. Durrant, a University of British Columbia student, were found shot to death in their sleeping bags on a beach in Pacific Rim National Park near Tofino, B.C.
The two had planned a “romantic getaway under the stars on Vancouver Island,” according to a statement from the State of New Mexico's Department of Public Safety, but were killed when they were discovered by Mr. Burgess, who had fled to Canada from his home in New Jersey to avoid the Vietnam war draft.
Daniel Creally, now retired, was the RCMP's original investigator on the case. It was the only unsolved case in his entire career as a Mountie.
Mr. Creally said Mr. Burgess was a religious fanatic who attacked the couple after learning they were unmarried.
“He encountered a man and woman together in a sleeping bag,” Mr. Creally said. “They were cohabitating and he didn't believe in that.”
He said Mr. Burgess was a member of a cult known as the “Children of God” and had Jesuit training. He identified himself to people as “Job Weeks” before going to Vancouver.
After the murder, Mr. Burgess disappeared. He discarded all of his personal belongings, including his shaving kit and prescription glasses, when he left B.C. in 1972.
“He took on a whole new identity,” Mr. Creally said. “We never could find him.”
New Mexico police have told Mr. Creally they believe Mr. Burgess had been living in in the bush there for more than decade, keeping himself alive through petty theft.
Mr. Burgess's fingerprints were on file with authorities on both sides of the border, and that he would have had to stay under the radar.
“Maybe that is the very way he avoided detection, was living out of the mainstream, away from any encounter with law enforcement.” Mr. Creally said.
Victim Ann Durrant's father, Geoffrey Durrant, a retired University of British Columbia English professor who lives in Richmond, B.C., said he was pleased to finally have some closure, though he wished Mr. Burgess had been arrested and charged with his daughter's murder.
“I'm very glad to hear that,” he said upon learning that Mr. Burgess was dead. “I think he deserved it. I'm gratified.”
Cpl. Lagan said the RCMP has been investigating the case continuously since 1972 and that it was reassigned to a new officer just last week. He said that Mr. Burgess had been featured on websites operated by the RCMP, U.S. authorities, as well as the television show America's Most Wanted .
“There's always somebody who was investigating that file,” he said.
Authorities said Monday that while they were pleased to have solved the case, they wish it had been under different circumstances.
“I feel relieved,” Mr. Creally said. “But I think it's very unfortunate that a law enforcement officer had to die for him to be identified. That's a sad, sad way for an ending.”
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