MD Man Found Not Criminally Responsible For Family Slayings Over COVID-19 Vaccine

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A Maryland man has been found not criminally responsible for the deaths of his half-brother and his wife in Ellicott City in 2021, along with an elderly family friend.

Jeffrey Burnham submitted a plea agreement and has been sentenced to an indefinite confinement in a Maryland inpatient psychiatric facility, reports CBS Baltimore. The 48-year-old from Cumberland pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder as part of the not criminally responsible plea deal. In 2022, a Howard County judge found Burnham incompetent to stand trial.

Burnham, who was 47 at the time, was charged with first-degree murder and one count of motor vehicle theft in connection with the Sept. 29, 2001, killing of Rebecca Reynolds, an 83-year-old woman who was a friend of Burnham’s mother.

Reynold's stolen vehicle was found abandoned, which reportedly led to the discovery of the victims' bodies inside their home a day after Reynolds' death, Patch reported.

Evelyn Burnham reportedly told police that her son, Brian Robinette, was a pharmacist and that Jeffrey Burnham made statements that he needed to confront his half-brother about administering COVID-19 vaccines.

He told his mother, “Brian knows something," and that COVID vaccines were poisoning people, reported the Baltimore Sun.

According to the Howard County Police Department, Burnham drove to his family's home after fatally shooting Reynolds in Allegany County, where he also stole that victim's car. Authorities said all three victims were targeted.

After killing the Robinettes and stealing their 2007 Chevrolet Corvette, police said Burnham drove to Tucker County, West Virginia, where he was arrested Sept. 30 outside a motel at Davis.

Evelyn Burnham first called police on the same day her son killed Reynolds and again the following day when he shot to death the Robinettes, according to the Baltimore Sun. Charging documents do not indicate what the Cumberland Police did in response to those calls.

Authorities finally found Jeffrey Burnham and arrested him in West Virginia.

Howard County Judge Lenore Gelman's finding on Burnham's mental health was based on a lengthy opinion/assessment by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, reports CBS Baltimore.