A homeless woman who was murdered on Nov. 3, 2019 inside the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Fountain Square, Indianapolis was given justice thanks to the joint effort of the "community."
Christian News Now reported that 57-year-old Robert Burks was convicted for the murder of 58-year-old Julie Morey, who was strangled and stabbed to death. WTHR said Morey's cause of death was "multiple stab wounds."
Burks was found guilty of slaying Morey after a one-day trial. The sentence hearing is set on March 10. He was arrested in February 2020 months after Morey was found dead in the church. He was in the custody of the Monroe County for a 2018 battery case prior to his arrest.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement that "community effort" led to the case being "solved." This is despite the fact that St. Patrick Catholic Church's leaders say Morey was not a member of the church but had been visiting it for at least two years before her death.
"This case was solved through a true community effort. Witnesses and nearby businesses played a crucial role throughout the investigation and prosecution, which ultimately led to justice for Ms. Morey and her family," Mears said.
Morey is said to be a "kind and giving woman." Dozens of people gathered outside St. Patrick Church in 2019 to remember her after her death.
The investigators discovered an earlier report Morey filed in the police against Burks for assaulting her. The report showed that Burks punched her in the face. Accordingly, Burks did this because she declined "his request for sex."
The Associated Press reported that prosecutors said the forensic report on Morey found Burk's DNA on her hands, face, neck, and fingernails, which depicted a struggle took place during her strangulation.
Another murder inside a church building
In similar news, a 69-year-old congregant was found dead in the bathroom of Southern Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland last November. The congregant, Evelyn Player, was an employee of the church and was similarly stabbed to death. She is said to be a motherly figure among those who know her.
A 62-year-old man, Manzie Smith, was arrested two weeks later for the first-degree murder of Player. He is said to be an ex-convict who was one of the contractors of the church at the time of Player's death.
Smith and other contractors were doing renovation work at the church that required Player to come early to work on the day she died.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan offered a $100,000 reward for anyone who could offer information leading to the arrest of Player's murderer.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal in December, 2021 recorded an increase in murder cases in cities across the United States. These were reportedly high in Portland, Oregon; Louisville, Kentucky; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Philadelphia.
"U.S. cities are facing a sustained surge in homicides, as police departments and mayors' offices tally up crime statistics for 2021 and launch 2022 programs designed to curb gun violence," The Wall Street Journal said.
"The surge of killings that began after the pandemic in 2020 remains, though it eased a bit," they elaborated.
