Burr Pleads Guilty to Second Degree Murder, Concealment

Effingham resident Christine Burr has pleaded guilty to second degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death. The counts stem from the stabbing death of Joseph Delaney in 2011 and the disposal of his body in a rural part of Jasper County.

The 58-year-old Burr was sentenced to 20 years in prison for second degree murder and five years in prison for concealment, and the sentences will run consecutively, not together.

In exchange for the guilty plea, three counts of first degree murder were dismissed.

Effingham County State's Attorney Bryan Kibler said there were several factors that led to the negotiated plea: Burr's lack of a criminal history; no witness to what really happened between Burr and Delaney in the kitchen of Burr's apartment when the stabbing occurred; Burr gave a full and complete confession at the time of her arrest; her age, which means she'll be past 70 years old before she is eligible for release; and the reality that Burr could have received a lesser sentence in a trial setting.

Delaney was at Burr's apartment for a meal along with Burr's daughter, Kristy Mathis and Mathis' boyfriend Zebadiah Houser when during a conversation Delaney told Burr that he had supplied the drugs that caused Burr's husband Donald's death. Burr told police she took a pot of boiling water and threw it in Delaney's face and then stabbed him with a knife, resulting in Delaney's death.

Burr, Mathis and Houser then put Delaney's body in a van and drove to a rural area north of Newton where they dumped the body. A person out walking found the body some months later.

In the meantime, a phone tip to police in Chicago suburban Evergreen Park indicated that Burr had been involved in the death of a man in Effingham and had dumped the man's body in Jasper County. Evergreen Park police contacted Effingham authorities and using court- authorized overhears obtained information that led to Burr's arrest as well as those of Mathis and Houser late last year. Mathis and Houser earlier this year pleaded guilty to concealment of a homicidal death. Houser received a prison term while Mathis was placed on probation.

The second degree murder count alleges that Burr's actions were due to "sudden and intense passion" as part of the conversation with Delaney.