Justice Served: The Murder of Dorothea Burke
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This is Murder, She Told, true crime stories from Maine, New England, and small town USA. I'm Kristen Zevey. You can connect with me at MurderSheTold.com or on Instagram at MurderSheToldPodcast.

Dorothea Burke was looking forward to the golden years of retirement when her longtime husband, John Burke, left her out of the blue for another woman. This just about broke Dorothea, who friends and family called Dot. Her niece-in-law, Anna, told me previously that to help cope, she sought comfort from friends, family, and her social life. Dot was a social woman and loved to have a beer and a cigarette over a good game of cards or cribbage.

Dot liked to have a good time. Her need for community only doubled when her relationship shattered, forcing her to pick up the pieces and start anew. She moved in with her sister Pearl to help ease the financial burden of living alone. Plus, she felt safer living with family.

On June 23rd, 1984, 63-year-old Dorothea Burke went to two well-loved dive bars in Bucksport, Maine, Captain Jack's and Priscilla's. It was her birthday, and she'd spent the day at a family wedding in nearby Prospect, Maine. But the night called for her own celebration, and with confetti still in her hair and a pack of bright 100 cigarettes in her purse, she made an appearance at her favorite watering holes.

Five days later, her body was found at the intersection of Muskrat and Meadow Roads in Stockton Springs, discarded in a grass ditch littered with beer cans and cigarette butts. Dot had been bludgeoned to death. I covered what little I knew of Dot's story in an episode from June 2021 called Cold Case Arrest, the 1984 murder of Dorothea Burke.

In September of 2020, 36 years after her death, the Maine State Police announced they'd made an arrest. 57-year-old Kurt Damon Sr. was indicted. He pled not guilty to the charge of murder.

Dot's family always had their suspicions about Kurt. He, too, was a local. And his family was well-known in the community, for better or worse. He had a criminal history. He was convicted of aggravated assault in 1990 and was sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison, with the option for parole after one. In 2006, he was convicted of driving under the influence and violating a restraining order.

The Damon family was a bit notorious around town, and both of Kurt's sons had charges and convictions for restraining order violations and drug trafficking. Most notably, in 2008, Kurt was assaulted when a feud out of the Hatfields and the McCoys broke out between his family and another, the Pomeroy's.

Both families had a sordid and strange history of fighting that had been going on for over 25 years, and their feud came to a head one afternoon when four Pomeroy men came over to Kurt's home and beat him with iron pipes and clubs. Kurt's son intervened and stabbed one of the men for calling 911. The Pomeroys were later arrested and charged with felony assault.

There's something very bizarre and Wild West about this ongoing feud. Kurt Damon Sr. had been at the family wedding reception on June 23, 1984. He was just 20 years old at the time. Two of Dot's nieces later told Fox Bangor that there was a man at the reception who was, quote, "...in a fighting mood and causing problems, though they didn't specify at the time who the man was."

Since his arrest in 2020, this case has faced delays not only due to the pandemic, but also because of a battle over the DNA evidence collected that was handled by a former lab employee named Todd Settlemyer.

When I went to the courthouse last April to look through the public file, it was clear this trial wasn't going to be cut and dried. The majority of the documents and the focus of the battle concerned the DNA evidence being contaminated by Suttlmayr, who was known to be a, quote, DNA shutter. In other words, somebody who leaves their DNA behind more frequently than others.

In 2012, Settlemyer resigned from the state crime lab after he allegedly lied to superiors. The damage control on the state's behalf required notification of any case where Settlemyer had handled evidence. There was a possibility the evidence he handled may need additional examination and verification.

This worked in favor for the defense, who was attempting to undermine the credibility of the evidence at hand because Settlemyer had been part of its chain of custody in 2005. In the files from the courthouse, the defense wrote in one of its filings: "We believe Mr. Settlemyer's personnel records reveal a history of repeated contamination of evidence, improper access of restricted areas of the lab, and untruthfulness."

I go deeper into this and what I found in the file in the first episode on Dorothea Burke. I'll add a link in the show notes.

In June 2021, Kurt's defense attorney, Jeremy Pratt of Camden, pushed the court to dismiss the case altogether because of how long the state took to charge the case, which he claimed violated his client's right to a fair trial. Pratt claimed that witnesses who could have been called to testify, such as Kurt's mother, who allegedly could establish an alibi for Kurt, have since passed, and

and the ticking clock on a 40-year-old case is concerning for due process. Kurt had been interviewed multiple times over the past three and a half decades. DNA, fibers, and more had been collected from the scene with the hopes that one day, technology would be advanced enough to make a slam-dunk case against her killer.

Witnesses, including Kurt's ex-wife, who had previously been reluctant to speak openly to investigators, in recent years told police what they knew. But the key piece of evidence? Dot's cigarettes and the birthday confetti found in her hair.

Just a few weeks before this recording, on Tuesday, February 8th, 2022, Pratt announced that his client, Kurt Damon Sr., was taking a plea bargain, a deal between the prosecution and the defense. And on Friday, February 11th, at the Waldo County Courthouse in Belfast, Kurt pled guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

During the hearing, Assistant Attorney General Laura Namani presented the evidence the state had collected in support of the murder charges and over the course of 30 minutes relayed the particulars of Dorothea Burke's final evening alive.

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Saturday, June 23rd, 1984 was an exciting day for Dot. It was her 63rd birthday and she was also attending a family wedding. She'd gotten ready for the wedding at her daughter Ruth's house, making sure she had plenty of bright 100 cigarettes in her favorite black purse. Ruth, who wasn't going to the wedding, had plans to see her mother the next day at a birthday party she had planned for her, but Dot never made it to her own party.

Dot didn't drive and relied on others for transportation. Her family happily pitched in when needed, but her sister Pearl, with whom she lived, wasn't a fan of her social life and drinking. She refused to give her sister rides to and from bars where she was a regular, so she sometimes got rides from other bargoers.

During the reception, Dot was surprised by a shower of confetti and a chorus of family members singing "Happy Birthday." Witnesses recalled seeing Kurt Damon Sr., who was only 20 at the time, drinking a Budweiser and chatting with Dot during the reception. Another witness claimed to have left the reception with Dot to go buy a six-pack of Michelob at the store. It's unclear from my research if they knew each other before this point.

but both Kurt and Dot were well-known in the area, so it's not unlikely. Around 9:15, Dot wanted to keep up the celebration spirit and go dancing at a local dive. Kurt Damon Sr. went with her. Witnesses at the first bar they went to, Captain Jack's, remembered seeing Dot arrive in a red compact car with a stocky younger man in a red shirt who looked like Kurt. Witnesses at Priscilla's bar said the same thing.

That car was a red Chevrolet Chevette, a boxy two-door hatchback, and it belonged to Kurt's mother.

Though the timeline of that night after leaving the second bar was unclear, what was clear was that Dot didn't show up to her birthday party the next day, and her family knew something was wrong. Her body was found five days later when construction workers came across her on the side of the road. Dot was wearing the same clothes she'd worn to the wedding. Black pants, a maroon blouse, and a pink sweater.

According to police reports, there were obvious and severe wounds to her head and face, including lacerations and fractures, and it appeared that she had been dragged away from the road into the grass. Police found birthday confetti in her hair, bright 100 cigarette butts and their empty pack, a paper bag with full cans of Budweiser, and another bag with a six-pack of Michelob beer. Dot's black purse was missing.

Inside the red Chevette, police found Dot's confetti in the back seat, though it's also been printed as in the passenger seat, as well as Bright 100's cigarette butts. Regardless of which seat the confetti was found, there were pretty clear signs that Dot had been in the vehicle that night.

Police questioned Kurt Damon Sr., and he denied being with her that night at all. But multiple witnesses contradicted him, placing him not only at the wedding, chatting over a Budweiser, but also driving Dot to two separate bars that night, Captain Jack's and Priscilla's.

Witnesses from the bars also picked him out of a photo lineup as the man they remembered seeing with her that evening, during original interviews with police. And they didn't even know Kurt.

Police kept the forensic evidence a secret that they held in their back pocket. They also collected fibers from her body at the scene. Prosecutor Nomani revealed at the hearing that these fibers were red textile fibers that matched the shirt Kurt was wearing that night. Though it wasn't mentioned at the hearing, based on my findings in the file last year, there was also what was quoted as an abundant amount of apparent semen collected from Dot's body at the scene.

strongly suggesting sexual assault. But according to reports in that file, testing was done back in 1984 that revealed no semen or prostate-specific antigen. In other words, it's not clear that it was semen, and I don't think it produced a DNA profile at all. Subsequent, more modern testing produced a DNA profile that only matched Dorothea.

I assume that if this DNA evidence were fruitful, it would have been presented with the other evidence laid out at the hearing. So I assume that either it didn't yield useful results, or the defense cast sufficient doubt upon its integrity, and therefore the state didn't include it in their presentation. Over the past two decades, Kurt talked to family and friends about Dorothea's death.

Kurt said that another man was involved. Though the identity of this man was never revealed publicly, the Bangor Daily News reported that the man died at sea in the early 90s. Kurt told one person it was a tragic mistake. He'd accidentally backed over her when she got out to use the bathroom on the side of the road. He explained that he and his friend then moved her body and took her money and purse.

His ex-wife came forward and told a similar story. Kurt borrowed his mom's car and gave Dot a ride home from the wedding. They stopped at the bars, and on the way home, for whatever reason, Dot was hit by the car, and instead of helping her, they left her for dead.

The former wife of Kurt's friend, who was with him that night, also told police a similar story. Another witness added that Dot had just gotten her first social security check and was riding around with Kurt in the car drinking that night. Her niece-in-law, Anna, told me last year that she had just started receiving social security and was so excited when she got her first one. This story ended in a similar way to the previous two.

But the former chief medical examiner, Margaret Greenwald, determined that Dot was killed by blunt force trauma and that her injuries were not consistent with being hit by a car. Dot was violently struck with something like a baseball bat or a 2x4. And if the sexual assault suggested from the file actually did happen, there's no way this was an accident.

When asked what a possible motive for the murder was, Assistant Attorney General Leanne Zania said it was likely simple. They took her purse, and she had money in her purse. On Friday, February 11th, 58-year-old Kurt Damon Sr. understood he was waiving his rights to a jury trial. He pled guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

According to the Bangor Daily News, Superior Court Justice Robert Murray asked Kurt, Are you pleading guilty to this charge because you are, in fact, guilty of this charge? After a pause, he quietly answered, I am, Your Honor. He chose not to address the court.

The judge then agreed with the sentence recommendation that was presented by the state and the defense. 20 years in prison with all but 12 years suspended, followed by four years of probation. This likely means that he won't be serving more than 12 years, if that.

Once on probation, he's barred from contact with the people who would have served as witnesses at the trial, and he's prohibited from the possession and use of alcohol and drugs. He also must submit to searches and get substance abuse treatment.

After the conclusion of the hearing, Leanne Zania, the Assistant Attorney General, spoke with the press. She said that the Burke family had to live with the thought that Dot was discarded on a desolate road, like she was a beer can or a cigarette butt.

Dot was a beloved member of the community who was trying to keep her chin up after a heartbreaking divorce. She was a blue-collar hard worker integral to Maine's then-prominent sardine industry. She was tickled to cash her first Social Security check, and she had many years left to live and new family members to love. When I look at the sole photo of Dot available, she looks happy and comfortable.

In her, I see everyone's favorite aunt or a friend you can call when you want to have a good laugh. Somebody who's loyal, helpful, and real.

Leanne Zania was confident about the closure the conviction would bring the family, adding, Dot's daughter-in-law, Kimberly Burke, told the courtroom the impact her death had on the family. For

For more than 37 years, Kurt went on with his life like nothing ever happened. It was that day our hearts were broken. Our lives changed forever.

Murder has no statute of limitations. This case lingered on for decades. But today, Dot's story gives hope to other families of cold case victims that no matter how long the wait, justice is still possible. Though imperfect, the system, or judicial process, does work.

The only winners, though, in this case are the police and the public. Police because their tireless efforts have paid off, and the public because a dangerous man has been taken off the streets. The people who have lost, however, are numerous.

Dot's children were robbed of many years with their mother, and their children lost a grandmother. Dot didn't even get to live for her grandchildren's journey into their adult lives. Her sister Pearl lost a companion of 60 years. Even the Lincolnville area lost a well-loved and lively old gal looking forward to her retirement.

Kurt's family is torn apart too by his imprisonment. The only person who escaped was Kurt's friend, who died long before this case was charged. I look at this case as a helpful reminder that these old cases can and are still being solved. That they are worth talking about. That they still merit police work.

Though 37 years is an awful long time to wait, and many of Dot's friends and family passed during that era, leaving this earth without answers, there is some solace in knowing that actions have consequences. And there is hope that one day, that we can say to a killer, there might be a knock on your front door, and you might have a long wait in a small cell until your bell tolls. ♪

I want to thank you so much for listening. I'm so grateful that you chose to tune in and I couldn't be here without you. Thank you. If you want to support and contribute to the show, there's a link in the show notes with options. Leaving a nice review or telling a friend is a great way to support too. You can connect with me on Facebook or Instagram at MurderSheToldPodcast.

A detailed list of sources can be found on the blog at MurderSheTold.com linked in the show notes. Thank you to Byron Willis for his research and writing support. If you would like to make a suggestion for a future episode or a correction, feel free to reach out to me at hello at MurderSheTold.com. My only hope is that I've honored your stories and keeping the names of your family and friends alive. I'm Kristen Sevey, and this is Murder She Told. Thank you for listening.