This tale accommodates point out of home violence. Abuse can also be reported through calling the Nationwide Home Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY).
INDIANAPOLIS — Tricia Platt and her folk have waited just about 4 years.
On Oct. 9, 2020, her niece, Brittany Burns, was once discovered unresponsive in a house at the southeast aspect of Indianapolis. She didn’t live on.
Community round her blamed alcohol withdrawal. 5 months next, a ruling introduced through the Marion County Coroner’s Administrative center equipped a miles graver account: Burns’ loss of life was once a murder from asphyxia.
The suffering was once “unbelievable,” Platt described. From after, the yearslong, hard attempt to create positive her niece’s killer could be put in the back of bars started. Shouts to Indianapolis’ police segment, prosecutors and doable observers fed on Platt’s week.
On Thursday, she realized Indianapolis police made an arrest.
Rakeem Thompson, Burns’ boyfriend, was once jailed on a initial homicide rate in her loss of life.
“Joyful,” Platt mentioned about her emotions nearest the arrest. “(I’m) just so relieved.”
According to new details in an arrest affidavit, Thompson called 911 the night Burns was found and told dispatchers he believed the 31-year-old “passed away” from alcohol withdrawal on the sofa in their home.
Medics took Burns to a hospital, where she died 10 days later. In March 2021, the coroner’s office determined she was killed.
Witnesses: An ‘amicable’ relationship turned violent
Early in the investigation, a detective learned Thompson, 32, asked his property managers if he could break his lease early while Burns remained in the hospital. When asked why, he responded he wanted to move closer to his job on the west side and Burns was moving back to Chicago. The manager agreed to break the lease, the affidavit stated.
A detective in the report said they attempted to interview Thompson from his new home. When they knocked on the door and asked him to come downtown to give a statement, he replied he “would like to get an attorney.”
Residents near the couple’s home in the 2500 block of English Avenue estimated the couple had lived together for about a year. Their relationship seemed “amicable at first,” one witness reported.
“As time went along, the boyfriend became disrespectful,” a witness told police.
Neighbors told police they often heard the pair arguing and, because their window blinds were open, they saw Burns get pushed to the ground several times.
In December 2021, one neighbor recalled hearing the couple arguing the day Burns was found unresponsive. The witness told police that several seconds into the fight, they heard a thud that shook their residence. They said police and ambulances showed up about 10 minutes later and Burns was taken to a hospital. She never came back, they said.
Court records show a warrant for Thompson’s arrest was approved this week. He’s scheduled to first appear in court May 28.
Closure to a case
Platt said an arrest in her niece’s case brought her to tears multiple times.
“I’m just so relieved,” she said. “Justice helps closure.”
When Burns was once born, Platt mentioned she was once the primary particular person to store her. She’s now serving to Burns once more via visits along with her youngster son and daughter.
Touch reporter Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com
This text at the beginning gave the impression on Indianapolis Celebrity: 4 years nearest Brittany Burns was once killed, her boyfriend is jailed
