After deliberating three hours, a jury found a 35-year-old Harford County man guilty Tuesday of the first-degree murder of a woman whose decomposing body was among four found in remote areas of the county between June andSeptember.
Charles Eugene Burns stood quietly as the jury read its verdict in the case of Lillian Abramowicz Phelps, 43, of Elkton. Her body was found in the brush beside a secluded Havre de Grace farm road June 14. Prosecutors argued that Burns took Phelps there May 31, choked her into unconsciousness and then ran her over with his Dodge Neon, killing her.
Burns? family held hands tightly as the verdict was read, but remained stoic until after leaving the courtroom. They declined to comment.
“This is some good luck for our family among all the bad,” Robert Abramowicz, the victim?s younger brother, said of the verdict. He said he was “very satisfied with the outcome.”
Abramowicz sat through all four days of the trial, including grisly crime scene photos of his sister?s body, testimony about his sister wandering off in search of drugs, and defense lawyers implying that she had been exchanging sex for money.
Burns? motive was never disclosed during the trial, and the judge instructed the jury that prosecutors were not required to address it. However, Phelps was found naked, and prosecutors suspect she was sexually assaulted.
Burns is pending trial on charges of assaulting six other women in separate incidents.
Police have always suspected the deaths of all four women were linked, though the other three remain under investigation with no charges placed. At a pretrial hearing, it was revealed that the blood of one of the other women was found under Burns? car, in addition to Phelps? blood, which was the main evidence linking Burns to her death.
