Meet, Marry, Murder - Season 1, Episode 18 - Burns - Full Episode | Forensic Files

[suspenseful music] NARRATOR: In Harrisburg, Illinois, a search is on for missing wife and mother, Carla Burns.
Family and friends are getting really nervous because they usually would have heard from her by now,
and she's not responding to any text messages or calls. NARRATOR: Joining the search, her husband, Brian.
He warns-- she's suicidal. He also offered that maybe she-- because she was a nurse,
that she maybe overdosed, and put-- you know, she took insulin, injected herself
with insulin and overdosed herself in that way. NARRATOR: But when charred human remains are discovered,
police become immediately suspicious. What part has her husband played in all of this?
He was very nervous. He was pacing. He kept asking, did we find Carla? And he kept looking towards the burn pile area.
And he was just extremely nervous, I felt. NARRATOR: It's a story of control, of a failing marriage,
and of greed. He had, almost, a fetish for-- for money and property and control in the relationship.
NARRATOR: Can investigators prove that Brian Burns murdered his wife, and so, bring justice for her children?
They're great kids. And they went through a horrible, horrible thing losing their mother that way.
So sorry-- [sob] [suspenseful music] NARRATOR: The woman who was to become Carla Burns,
first met Brian Burns in 2008. Both were in the medical business in Texas. He was an emergency room doctor.
She, a mother of two teenage boys, and a popular teacher of Nursing at a local college.
MATT GOETTEN: A very caring person, obviously. She went into a health care field, where she--
where she had had some success, and was-- ha-- had gotten into teaching in the health care field.
And so very caring person, very outgoing. Someone who was adventurous. NARRATOR: Stacy Kinter, an Illinois Police Special Agent,
would get to know all about Mr. And Mrs. Brian Burns. Dr. Burns was a-- I guess, he was an ER physician in the area,
and Carla was a nurse. So they were doing quite well for the area. They made very good money.
NARRATOR: Carla and Brian bonded through a lot of travel. He encouraged her to try one of his lifelong passions.
Carolyn Canville is a reporter who's been researching the story of a marriage, a murder, and a relationship, which got off to a great start.
Brian Burns has always loved scuba diving. He's done it since he was young. And he really wants Carla to get into it because he
thinks they could really share some good time together doing that. So he-- he shows her.
He teaches her how to do it. She gets her certification. And so now, the two of them enjoy traveling together
and scuba diving together and seeing all the beautiful colors under the water. NARRATOR: The couple went on exotic holidays
to indulge their newfound love of diving. It was on one of those trips that they
witnessed something that was to prove significant later in their lives-- a cremation.
CAROLYN CANVILLE: They go on this one trip to Costa Rica. The two of them were--
were looking through their binoculars. And they see something that really makes a lasting impression on them, he says.
Says, they see on this nearby island, they're forming this beautiful cremation ceremony.
This-- this ritual that they do to cremate and bury, scatter the ashes of a loved one who has passed.
The two of them look at each other and they say, isn't that beautiful? And-- and they-- at that moment, right then and there, they
both decide that when they die, they want to be cremated. NARRATOR: In 2009, after dating for a year, the couple married.
They settled in Harrisburg, Illinois. CAROLYN CANVILLE: Brian Burns takes a job as a local doctor
at Harrisburg Medical Center. And Carla is working as a nurse, and also teaching
at Southeastern Illinois College. NARRATOR: With good jobs, the couple could afford
a high standard of living. STACY KINTER: They owned a very nice home. It was just outside of Harrisburg.
And it was located on a pond. And it was in a wooded area. And it was a nice piece of property that they owned.
NARRATOR: Safe too-- a community to enjoy. STACY KINTER: Its in Saline County. And it's pretty rural.
It's a good sized town. It's one of those towns, where everybody knows everybody.
And not a lot happens there, usually. NARRATOR: But behind the facade, the relationship
was showing signs of strain. Forensic psychologist Dr. Judy Ho has been reviewing
the married couples timeline. They were both caregivers. Brian was a physician. Carla was a nurse.
They both seem like givers. And maybe their relationship was actually quite peaceful in the beginning.
But a few years in, their relationship became very conflictual. There were multiple accusations from Brian
that Carla was cheating on him. And perhaps, committing financial crimes against him.
And it seemed that the relationship had really devolved to a point where it was almost
past the point of no return. NARRATOR: In 2010, Carla had reestablished contact with her ex-husband, and the father of her sons.
Brian wasn't happy. MATT GOETTEN: Brian Burns did accused his wife, Carla, of some infidelity with her ex-husband.
She had-- had taken up a relationship with her ex-husband. At least, emotionally again, she was talking
to him frequently on the phone. I think she was confiding in him about the troubles
she was having. NARRATOR: But Carla insisted she was just reconnecting as a friend, talking about their children.
Brian did not believe her. DR. JUDY HO: The relationship had gotten so bad that Carla finally decided
that she wanted a divorce. But he would always reject that idea. He would insist that they stay married even though there
were obviously very unhappy. And she grew more and more fearful of him over time.
NARRATOR: The marriage was simply not working. At one point, Carla and Brian agreed to separate.
But months later, they agreed to give the relationship one more try. At one point, they did rekindle
their relationship after several months of separation. They got back together again.
And they ended up, actually, at that point, moving to the residence that they lived in in Saline County.
NARRATOR: In 2013, Carla decided she finally wanted out of her marriage. She started to confide in friends
that he was doing things that were concerning to her. CAROLYN CANVILLE: Carla files for divorce.
She's citing irreconcilable differences. And she also says that he is verbally abusing her.
She packs up her belongings. She moves out. And Brian is, you know, he's not happy about this.
NARRATOR: Carla moved into a hotel in Marion, 30 minutes from the family home. Arguments about money began to dominate
the divorce proceedings. CAROLYN CANVILLE: In August of 2015, Carla says, that Brian forges her signature,
and drains their savings account of the $63,000 that they had both put together.
So you can see from the divorce papers that they're fighting about money. Just constantly on and off about how
the money is gonna be split. She's asking for support. He's-- he's accusing her of economic blackmail.
NARRATOR: Carla began to discover the secretive way that her husband had organized their finances.
MATT GOETTEN: He had the paperwork drawn up, so that he was the only person on the deed.
Even though they had gone to the realtor together, even though they had gone, and it was her understanding
that she would be on the deed as well, as is typical in the United States when it comes to marital property.
After their initial meeting, he had contacted the realtor and instructed them to put the deed only in his name.
NARRATOR: For investigators, there was only one reason that he had done that. MATT GOETTEN: Burns would not have
included her name on the deeds because he had almost a fetish for-- for money and property and control in the relationship.
NARRATOR: Brian was also rearranging things, so that he would appear to have less
money than he actually did. MATT GOETTEN: The real Brian Burns was a Brian Burns who sent his $300,000 in savings
to his uncle Curly during the pendency of the divorce. The real Brian Burns was the Brian Burns who put the deed
to his house only in his name. And then during the divorce, deeded the house to his Uncle Curly, so that he
could later get it back. NARRATOR: Brian Burns' fetish for money made this fall from an easy divorce.
CAROLYN CANVILLE: It's not just in the divorce papers that-- that they're fighting.
Brian is apparently really harassing Carla by text message and by phone calls. He sends her these-- these just angry text messages.
And she texted him back and she says, stop texting me, leave me alone. NARRATOR: Rod Demery is a one-time murder squad
detective. Carla claimed that she was being harassed by him. She revealed text messages on his phone that said,
you know, please stop calling me, please stop harassing me, and if you want to talk to me, call my lawyer.
Even her therapist had taken note that she-- she was-- she did have some fear of Burns
at the very end of that relationship. CAROLYN CANVILLE: It's just getting more and more angry.
And she's getting nervous. She's thinking, you know, he might be-- he might turn violent.
She ended up applying for several protection orders from Brian. And all of them claim verbal abuse
and that she feared that it was going to escalate to physical abuse. NARRATOR: Carla wanted to go home.
Brian did everything he could to stop her, accusing her of being in a mess. MATT GOETTEN: She was asking for relief--
being afforded the family home to live in because she was living out of a hotel room.
He made accusations that she was abusing prescription drugs. Text messages between the two of them
show that he was probably the one abusing her prescription. NARRATOR: Shortly after the split,
Brian's accountant informed him that Carla was filing her taxes separately, and not as a married couple.
It meant that Brian's tax payments would rise. If they decided to get a divorce,
and they would file separately, Brian's taxes would be increased by $15,000 a year.
And it seemed like that really aggravated him. NARRATOR: As someone who earned around $300,000 a year,
$15,000 may not have been very much to Brian Burns. But detectives soon faced the question--
was it enough to make him kill the woman that he'd married just five years earlier?
MARIA DWYER: One of our dispatchers, actually, came back to my office when this is not a normal thing.
He came back to my office to advise me that they had received calls all throughout the day about Carla
Burns missing, and all the family members expressed sincere concern about her well-being.
NARRATOR: On March the 6th, 2016, Carla Burns was seen leaving the nursing college where she taught.
MATT GOETTEN: Carla burns was seen on video leaving her place of employment at approximately 3:00 PM.
NARRATOR: Carla was known to regularly call and text friends and family. But from that afternoon, messages and calls to her,
went unanswered. Family and friends are getting really nervous. They haven't heard from her in two days.
On the 10th of March, Carla was reported missing by family and friends. They hadn't heard from her since the 8th.
NARRATOR: Detective Maria Dwyer was on call at the Illinois Police Department. A co-worker of Carla Burns had contacted Marion PD
and expressed her concern because Carla had not been at work, and had not called to work for two days.
So we sent one of our patrolmen out to the motel, where Carla Burns was supposed to be staying.
He just did a well-being check, did not discover Carla to be there. Then, throughout the day we received numerous calls
from her coworkers, to her family, to even her ex-husband had called the Marion PD to express
their concern about her not showing up for work, not calling anyone, to explain her absence.
When a missing person report comes in, police check the obvious. If this person may be with a friend, family or somewhere,
they just send and told anyone. Then they look for things that are extraordinary.
NARRATOR: And what was extraordinary to her friends and family was the context of her disappearance.
MARIA DWYER: They wanted to, almost immediately, make me aware that she was going through a kind
of turbulent divorce. They haven't heard from her in two days, so they contact police and file a missing person's report.
We received a call, also, from Carla Burns' divorce attorney. He had indicated that Brian Burns' divorce attorney had
contacted him because Brian had showed up at his office to express he is now concern because he was being advised
by friends and family that Carla had not shown up for work and had not called for work.
NARRATOR: A Sheriff's deputy was dispatched to the Burns family home. CAROLYN CANVILLE: Brian is friendly, come on in,
let me show you around. He's very talkative. Talks up a storm. But claims he has no idea where Carla is--
I've no clue. Where she's staying at this motel in Marion, I'd be happy to go over there with you.
But he claims that he just-- he has no idea where Carla could be. NARRATOR: A few hours later, the officer
returned to check for her car, which he found parked in the garage. This was his only mode of transport.
Six days after his disappearance, Brian Burns contacted the Sheriff's Office. On that day, Saline County Sheriff's deputies
were invited by Brian Burns out to his property to look for his wife. He lived in rural Saline County, a home surrounded by woods.
Brian Burns had indicated to Sheriff's deputies that, perhaps, Carla burns had committed suicide
and she was out in the woods somewhere. NARRATOR: Burns joined the officers, but they found nothing.
As part of the search, deputies wanted to look over a neighbor's land, but Brian
was reluctant to join them. MATT GOETTEN: He didn't like to trespass, and that there
were horses on the property. And those horses were not very friendly. After they dropped Brian Burns off at his home,
they obviously thought that was an area of interest and went back to the property.
The deputies found a burned pile, which was suspicious because it had rake marks in the ashes.
Upon further inspection, the deputies found what they believed to be human remains.
NARRATOR: It was just six days since Carla had been reported missing. Sheriff has called in Illinois Police.
Detective Stacy Kinter was assigned to work alongside detective Dwyer. When we had received the phone call
from the deputy on the property near Dr. Burns' house, with the burn pile with a suspected bone fragments,
that really-- we responded immediately to that area, detective Dwyer and myself.
And our crime scene, they began processing that area. We had gained permission from the property owner.
And it really piqued our interest because it was directly adjacent to Dr. Burns' property.
It really made us start thinking, maybe, we need to narrow our focus a little bit on Dr. Burns.
NARRATOR: As the detectives surveyed the scene, Brian Burns arrived. STACY KINTER: He was very nervous.
He was pacing. He kept asking, did we find Carla. And he kept looking towards the burn pile area.
And he was just extremely nervous, I felt. NARRATOR: Based on what she had learned from talking to Carla's
friends, several other things appeared strange to investigators. MARIA DWYER: The vehicle of Carla Burns,
the RAV4, actually being parked over at Brian Burns' residence was a red flag. That was the vehicle that all of her friends and family
described to be her vehicle. And that she would not be in any other vehicle. MATT GOETTEN: It was known by her family, friends,
and co-workers to be the car that she drove. And so when deputies found the car at the family home,
that immediately made them suspicious that-- that something was rotten there. She would not be driving any other vehicle.
So for that vehicle to turn up in-- in his garage, was definitely a red flag. The other major red flag for us was the fact
that Brian Burns, at that moment, had Chloe, the dog, with him. That was also another thing that her friends and family
had clearly expressed that if he had the dog, there was something wrong because Carla would
never leave without her dog. NARRATOR: Detectives Dwyer and Kinter asked to interview Brian Burns about the day
his wife disappeared. STACY KINTER: He seemed very nervous. He was pacing. He was looking out the window.
He would frequently get up from the table where we were interviewing him, and-- and check to see what our crime scene services were doing.
And he would frequently ask us, did we find Carla, do we-- what's going on, do we know what's going on.
And he would ask us to check what the crime scene services people, to determine what was happening
with the investigation. His initial story was that Carla was on spring break, that she was off of school, her teaching,
and from work. And that she was simply on spring break, and that she would turn up in several days.
NARRATOR: Burns claimed that Carla's state of mind could have been the cause of her disappearance.
STACY KINTER: He also provided other stories about Carla possibly committing suicide, that she had a handgun,
and that she could have killed herself, and we just hadn't located her. He also offered that maybe she-- because she was a nurse,
that she maybe overdosed and put-- you know, she took insulin, injected herself with insulin
and overdosed herself in that way. NARRATOR: Burns was asked why Carla's car was at the house.
MARIA DWYER: One of the other things that he mentioned was that it was quite common for her to go
ahead and leave the vehicle at his residence, that she would come and go freely to the residence
even though they were no-- no longer in, you know, a functional relationship. That he was working so much, it was an amicable relationship
that she-- she could come to the residence to do her laundry or watch her television shows, and stuff like that.
So that was his explanation for the vehicle being there. NARRATOR: A tissue of lies.
STACY KINTER: I didn't buy into that, at that point, just from the information that we had-- that they were
estranged, and that he was in possession of her dog, and her vehicle was located in his garage.
NARRATOR: In the garage the detectives inspect the car. MARIA DWYER: He opens the doors for myself
and the Saline County detective, and we begin to look around. There was an orange bag that was located inside Carla Burns'
vehicle, which I began to open up, and start to look inside to see if there might be any type of clues to where--
what or whereabouts may be. But I think, we just knew that this was not good. That this was the things that he was telling us,
that Carla was probably not going to be OK. At that point, I believe, law enforcement would indicate
that Brian Burns did become a suspect in Carla Burns' disappearance. NARRATOR: Detective Dwyer asked for the details
of any of Carla's credit cards. MARIA DWYER: Once again, he kind of became defensive that you, know, why
did we need that information. And we explained, you know, so we could track her-- her financials,
you know, to see if she had actually used her card anywhere more recently, and that would help.
And then he kind of laughed that off, explaining that he had just know heard a lot about identity
thefts and credit card thefts, so he was just being cautious. And mind you, he's talking to the police,
so it was a kind of a strange statement to make at that time. NARRATOR: Carla Burns was still officially missing.
But detectives had one leading thought on their minds. Mrs. Burns had been killed by Mr. Burns.
And they didn't like what they were hearing about Dr. Burns' recent behavior. MARIA DWYER: I'm receiving additional phone calls even
from his own best friend, who had-- had since had contact with Brian. He didn't know what to think.
And that maybe nothing at all had happened to Carla, or she was chopped up into pieces.
And that was his actual statement. NARRATOR: The strange behavior of Dr. Brian Burns
was a red flag to investigators looking into the disappearance of his wife, Carla.
STACY KINTER: I think that there was a general consensus that we did not believe what things he was telling us
and that he was offering up almost too much information and just trying to give us anything, I guess,
to maybe lead away from him. NARRATOR: The police department had also been taking
calls from Brian's colleagues. It seemed that his odd behavior hadn't just been obvious to investigators.
MARIA DWYER: His co-workers didn't normally consider him to be a very friendly person.
Some coworkers either avoided or did not talk with Brian. But the day that she is actually being reported missing
to our department, he was almost going out of his way to have conversations with some of his co-workers
and being overly friendly. NARRATOR: Burns' closest friend also offered startling information about claims that he'd made.
MARIA DWYER: Brian had actually made threats to harm himself, and that he started to plan his own funeral when they
were separated once before. And that they ultimately got him to agree to-- to go to a mental institute at that point.
And then they rekindled their relationship. But now, this-- this most recent separation, again,
had his friend concerned about Brian's mental state. He said, he didn't know what to think that either Carla wasn't
truly missing, and she, you know, she was going to turn up at any point during the next couple of days, or she was chopped
up into pieces somewhere. That's how he explained it. NARRATOR: For the detectives, too much wasn't adding up.
And Burns' odd behavior suggests that he was hiding something. They asked him back to answer more questions.
MARIA DWYER: In my interactions with Brian, getting to know Brian, he just had a tendency to over talk.
And that was actually a lot of the way that I went about my investigation was just making that contact with Brian,
and just letting him talk. And I think that that worked to our advantage because in doing so, he just--
when you over talk that much, you tend to say things that you probably shouldn't.
DR. JUDY HO: I don't think that Brian was actually very arrogant, that the police
was going to believe him. I think he was becoming increasingly desperate because he saw what might be in his future,
which would be a very, very long prison sentence at the very best. And so he started to make up, increasingly,
fantastical stories that had no bearing in reality. NARRATOR: It was the next day, when
the County Sheriff's Office decided to arrest Brian Burns. STACY KINTER: I believe, the State's Attorney's Office
decided there was enough information to go ahead with an arrest for the murder of Carla Burns.
NARRATOR: The tactic worked. He began to talk. ROD DEMERY: the 16th of March, Brian
told police that his wife was actually dead. NARRATOR: Investigators were finally
about to hear Dr. Brian Burns' version of his wife's death. MARIA DWYER: He advised that Carla came to his residence
after work because he had, Chloe, the dog. He had taken Chloe to a vet that day,
and Carla was coming there to pick up Chloe. Carla shows up. They had previously agreed to prepare dinner
and to have dinner together. So he had prepared her favorite meal. Carla gets there.
They eat. And then, she decides she would like to shoot his 9 millimeter handgun.
MATT GOETTEN: Burns had taken them out into a more wooded area of the property to show her how to shoot this weapon.
He handed Carla the handgun. She shot the first round. And the second around, the gun kicked back,
shooting Carla in the forehead. [gunshot] [crow cawing] Dr. Burns said that he panicked.
He's a doctor, but he panicked. He tried to save her, but he was unable to save her.
She started bubbling from the mouth, that he tried to give her CPR, but it was difficult.
He felt her pulse, and then she was no longer there. He didn't have his cell phone with them,
so that was why he couldn't initially contact anyone to, you know, request an ambulance
or anything like that. He indicated that, Chloe, the dog, started to lick at Carla.
So that grossed him out. So he picked up the dog. And he took Chloe, the dog, back up to the residence,
where he would put her inside the house. NARRATOR: Burns claims that he decided to cremate his wife,
there and then, the way the couple have agreed way back on their Costa Rica adventure.
STACY KINTER: He indicated that Carla's wishes were that she were-- she wanted to be cremated.
And her ashes should be spread on their property that they owned in Harrisburg. So I burned her body and scattered
the ashes because I remembered, that was her final wish-- to be cremated. He's so noble.
MARIA DWYER: At that point, he decides to go ahead and drag Carla several hundred feet, probably,
to a burned pile that's located in a pasture area. He specifically described turning Carla over,
so she would have been in a prone position face up. And he turned her over face down and dragged her
through the yard. He specifically describes tissue and brain matter was seen collecting on--
on the gra-- on the grass and sticks as he was dragging her on the ground. Brian then says that he picked her up,
and then carries her the remaining few feet to the burn pile, where he then throws
her on top of the burn pile. And at that point, he sets the burn pile ablaze. [wood burning]
STACY KINTER: And after that, he spread the ashes in the pond-- in a creek on the property.
And he said that that was what she would have wanted. NARRATOR: Was his story credible?
Not to forensic psychologist, Judy Ho. DR. JUDY HO: Of course, none of this makes sense.
The reasonable thing for anybody to do after an accident would be-- to call 911.
But I do not think that he was in his logical mind at this point. I think, he was suffering a mental breakdown.
NARRATOR: Was Dr. Brian Burns about to get away with a story that his wife had accidentally killed herself?
As a medic, he had specialist knowledge that he could use. DR. JUDY HO: I think, Brian really
didn't have an idea of what he was going to tell the detectives that would make sense.
And so I think he was trying to just throw a bunch of things at the board to see what sticks.
And he thought, oh, trauma-induced amnesia because then, maybe, I wouldn't be responsible for my behaviors.
STACY KINTER: Dr. Burns talked about a fugue state, kind of an amnesia that, you know, maybe he
went into some type of an amnesia thing, and just is not-- not able to recall what happened.
That's probably the closest that we ever got to him confessing to what happened.
He says, I just-- I forgot. I had trauma-induced amnesia. I didn't remember a thing until just now.
This is a self diagnosis by Dr. Brian Burns. Police are having a hard time buying that, obviously.
MATT GOETTEN: He does indicate to investigators that the reason he didn't come forward with that story,
to begin with, was he was suffering from what he, now, describes as a psychogenic fugue
or a fugue state. And that he has witnessed something so horrific that his mind was not allowing him to recall
what had actually happened. DR. JUDY HO: I think, he knew that the gig was up, and he had to make something up that would make sense.
But this didn't make sense. I think this was an emotional plea. I don't think he really thought through what he would say
to the detectives that would cause them to understand what had happened. NARRATOR: When he had finally remembered what have actually
happened, Burns said that he hoped to avoid being tried for any offense. STACY KINTER: He had already had a plan in his mind
that when police came to his residence, he was going to take himself hostage by holding
a gun to his head. And he was going to request myself and Detective Dwyer respond to his residence,
so that he could speak with us. He was going to make us coffee, we were going to sit out on the front porch
and overlooking the pond, and he was going to tell us what had happened to Carla.
And if we didn't believe him, Dr. Burns said that he would have committed suicide.
NARRATOR: By now, detectives couldn't be sure what to believe. The truth would prove to be much more elusive than anyone
could possibly have thought. He had hatched a scheme with a cellmate to have the State's
attorney kidnapped and held for ransom until his murder charges were dismissed. NARRATOR: All that remained of collarbones were charred bone
fragments, making it impossible to establish how she had died. But the type of gun she had allegedly,
accidentally killed herself with suggested problems with husband Brian's story. There simply weren't enough rounds to have been fired
through that gun to have allowed Carla Burns to have killed herself accidentally.
A 9 millimeter has very, very low recoil. There are very few guns that have enough recoil to even,
you know, rise over an inch out of your-- your-- your hand. NARRATOR: One of the early reasons
that Brian gave for his wife's disappearance was that she had possibly killed herself--
a tale, which may have given one truth away. MATT GOETTEN: Brian Burns had indicated
to investigators that, perhaps, his wife had killed herself with insulin. That is an area of interest to investigators.
That is an area of interest to me. I firmly believe that Brian Burns incapacitated
Carla burns with insulin. I'm not sure that Carla Burns was dead when Brian Burns put
her on the burn pile, and admittedly burned her body beyond recognition, and beyond forensic analysis.
But if she were dead, it was not by a gunshot wound from that weapon. NARRATOR: Burns takes the detectives back to his home
to show them what had happened. STACY KINTER: He took us to the area where he said that Carla was shot.
And then he showed us how he was able to take her body over to the burn pile. And the steps that he took to place her on the burn
pile to light the fire, how he removed her shoes, and took them back to the house and place
them in her closet, and just different details about how-- how-- what he did with Carla's body after she was dead.
NARRATOR: But for investigators, it was clear-- this was no accident. MATT GOETTEN: When the case was first presented to me,
as I reviewed the voluminous amount of evidence in the case and interviews, the burn pit
on the neighbor's property did seem like it was a little sloppy. Because I did believe, and I think
the evidence shows, that this was not an act of passion. This was a premeditated murder, which--
which Dr. Burns had gone to great lengths to plan. NARRATOR: As police collected evidence,
more discoveries incriminated Burns in the murder of his wife. MARIA DWYER: He was seen on the trail cam,
actually, getting a chainsaw from his-- his neighbor's pole barn, and collecting some of the debris
and tree and twigs. And ultimately, he created that burn pile just days prior to this incident.
NARRATOR: Further suggestion of premeditation was provided by Burns' strange behavior with his neighbors
before Carla's death. MATT GOETTEN: Two days before Carla Burns was murdered, Brian Burns had taken a firearm to his neighbor,
and asked his neighbor if he wanted to shoot the firearm. And then Brian Burns is wearing gloves--
rubber gloves, like surgical gloves at the time. And asks his neighbor if he would load the weapon.
The neighbor thought that was a little unusual that he was wearing gloves and even asked Brian Burns about the wearing
of the gloves, to which Brian Burns said, his grandfather always taught him to wear rubber gloves because, otherwise,
the rounds would possibly rust. Now, this neighbor thought that was a little weird,
but he didn't question it. Effectively, what we believe, two days earlier, he was trying to do is get his neighbor's prints on the rounds
on the gun, so that he could frame his neighbor for the murder of Carla Burns. And I think he even cleaned the gun wearing the gloves.
And I-- we believe that it was to put John Baker's fingerprints on that gun. NARRATOR: Burns treatment of Carla's cell phone
was also suspect. STACY KINTER: Carla's phone was discovered underneath the car--
truck seat of John Baker's that was located in an adjacent-- just north of Dr. Burns' house.
And her phone was in a plastic bag underneath the seat in John Baker's truck. MATT GOETTEN: Further evidence to us
that he was intending, at some point, to frame his neighbor for the murder of Carla Burns.
NARRATOR: Burns was held in custody to await trial. And it seemed that reality began to bite.
MATT GOETTEN: Burns was desperate when he was in custody. I don't think he had a bail that he could reach.
My recollection is his cash bail was $3 million. He knew he would not be able to post that in bail.
And so he further knew that he was in custody until-- and if he went to trial for the murder of Carla Burns.
I think Burns was desperate to get out of custody NARRATOR: Desperate and afraid, Burns
began talking to his cellmate-- an experienced career criminal. Carla's husband Brian was about to display behavior, which
could be thought of as outlandish, but for the fact that he'd already killed once.
MATT GOETTEN: Burns approaches his cellmate, asking him if he had-- almost in a TV show fashion, asking him
if his cellmate had someone who could "do a job for him." The cellmate had been in and out of prison his entire life.
And he saw an opportunity to, perhaps, help himself with his current predicament.
Burns' cellmate went directly to the jailer, and indicated that the doctor, as he called him,
was desirous of getting some help with something he didn't know what. He had hatched a scheme with a cellmate to have the state's
attorney kidnapped and held for ransom until his murder charges were dismissed. NARRATOR: Burns' plan was reported to investigators.
They had to gather evidence before they could prosecute. STACY KINTER: Dr. Burns, I believe,
from listening to some of the phone calls that he made or the recorded conversations that he had with our source,
he believed that if he could make it look like supporters of him had abducted the state's Attorney
and were wanting to, I guess, support Dr. burns and his innocence, and wanted to claim his innocence,
that if the state's attorney was out of the way, that this would all go away, that he would be set free.
I think, it was all about self-preservation at that point. And it was self-preservation beyond logic.
And it's quite possible, at this point, he was starting to suffer more delusional
thinking that wasn't treated, and possibly, not even discovered. And that can happen, sometimes, with relatively healthy
individuals when they are thrown into a huge and intense stressor. It's like the mind doesn't know how to cope with it.
And when the mind is overwhelmed, we sometimes see the people suffering mental breaks,
when otherwise, they didn't have any mental health problems to speak of or at least, that anybody knew of.
And so I think, at this point, he wasn't able to reason logically. And his desire to preserve himself, at any cost,
was taking over and causing the exacerbation of his mental breakdown. NARRATOR: Maybe delusional, but not so much that he didn't
have very well the motivations. Those directly involved with the case, consider Burns' motivation for the killing
to be purely financial. The divorce settlement was not to his liking. I feel like this whole divorce was very upsetting to him
due to the fact that he was a doctor. They had a lot of money. And he knew that he was going to lose a significant amount
of money during this divorce. Brian's accountant testified that Carla had planned
to file separately, and Brian's taxes would increase by $15,000. The reason I know the taxes is the impetus
is because while his wife was burning, he went to Marion-- went into her hotel room, gathered tax documents,
is seen on video surveillance coming out. NARRATOR: Brian Burns was convicted of the murder of Carla Burns in December 2019,
and sentenced to 40 years. He was also sentenced to five years for the concealment
of the homicidal death. Based on his sentences in the attempted kidnapping of the state's attorney, the murder of Carla Burns,
and the concealment of a homicidal death. I was glad to see that this finally came to an end,
that he was convicted. And that her-- Carla's family was able to have some sort of closure,
and could move on with this. It had been four years before-- since this went to trial.
So I-- I felt good about where we were. And I felt like we-- we put a lot of time and effort into the investigation.
And it's always good to see these type of results. And that the right person was convicted of this.
I did, also, eventually meet both of her sons. They would fly here from Texas during the trial.
That was when I initially met with them, and got to know them. And I mean, they're--
they're great kids. And they went through a horrible, horrible thing losing their mother that way.
So, sorry-- [sob] NARRATOR: Married in 2009, the relationship on the rocks by 2013.
Carla and Brian Burns were two medical professionals, who had seemed the perfect match for a couple
later in their life. But Dr. Brian Burns was not about to let nurse Carla Burns take what he believed was rightfully his--
everything. [car door closing] [music playing]

Brian and Carla Burns were going through a messy divorce when she disappeared, and Brian's explanation almost defied belief.

Though wedded couples vow to stay together until death do they part, this new true crime series looks at what happens when a groom or bride causes their beloved's death.

Brief Summary

Carla Burns was murdered by her husband Brian, who attempted to cover it up and frame others.

Key points

The Search for Carla Burns. A search begins for Carla Burns, a missing wife and mother, raising concerns among family and friends.
Divorce and Financial Strain. Carla files for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences and verbal abuse, leading to financial disputes.
Discovery of Human Remains. Police discover charred human remains near Brian's property, intensifying the investigation.
Brian's Suspicious Behavior. Brian Burns exhibits nervous behavior during the investigation, raising suspicions among detectives.
Brian Becomes a Suspect. As evidence mounts, Brian Burns is named a suspect in Carla's disappearance.
Strange Behavior Raises Red Flags. Investigators notice Dr. Burns' odd behavior, leading to suspicions about his involvement in Carla's disappearance.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It's a story of control, of a failing marriage, and of greed.

NARRATOR describes the relationship dynamics.

0:51WatchJun 8, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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