BREMERTON, Wash. — Sara Burke was killed on one of the busiest streets in Bremerton and somehow her murder is still unsolved. Police have a theory and think a serial killer may be to blame.
Sara was 19 years old when she was stabbed to death while walking to her boyfriend’s house in May 2011.
“She was just like anybody her age, she was texting on her telephone, and heading to her boyfriend's house,” said Bremerton Police Detective Martin Garland. “She was interrupted in her life, on the street corner in Bremerton on one of the busiest streets in our city. And the person that she encountered that night, took her life by means of a single stab wound to the neck.”
May 3, 2011: The day Sara was killed
Chester Burke, Sara's father, went to sleep early that night because he had to wake up early for work the next morning.
"I didn’t know anything about it until the police came knocking at the door and my middle daughter answered the door and they said they wanted to know if Sara Burke lived here. My daughter woke me up and said something happened to her," Chester said. "He mentioned that he had Sara outside."
Chester initially thought his daughter might have gotten into some trouble.
"He said, 'No, she is in a body bag' and I broke down," Chester said.
Sara was attending Renaissance High School at the time and was on track to start college courses the following year. She was planning on studying child development.
Sara and her brother went to high school together. They took the city bus there and back on school days, but on May 3, 2011, her brother forgot his bus pass. Even though she had her pass, she walked with him all the way home.
"She was a kind, thoughtful and considerate person," Sara's mother said. "She made friends with the alone and gathered people because of her friendly, non-judgmental nature."
"She was our princess. We definitely miss her every day," Chester said.
Unsolved Northwest: Remembering Sara Burke
Possible connection to other cases
In the span of nine months, three similar, violent attacks occurred in Bremerton.
After Sara's murder, 61-year-old Melody Brannon was stabbed to death on the front porch of her own home at 1300 High Avenue on Feb. 3, 2012, exactly nine months after Sara was killed.
On June 20, 2011, a 50-year-old Bremerton man survived a knife attack that occurred as he walked on Burwell Street near High Avenue. Bremerton police say he did not know his attacker.
The man was able to provide detectives with new information on the suspect’s appearance, which led to an updated composite sketch.
Garland said the short time frame, close location and similar M.O. are all factors that helped police connect the three cases quickly.
“We had these three instances, again, the two women that were killed and the male that survived. And since then, and before then we had nothing," Garland said. "So that's one of the other things that makes us confident that there's one person that's responsible, and that they've either moved out of the area or had perished themselves.”
All three crimes happened within a few blocks of each other. Someone could walk to all locations in just about 25 minutes.
Another reason that leads police to believe they were connected is that there was no real motivation other than murder.
“There didn't seem to be a motivation for the killing other than the killing itself, there was no robbery involved," Garland said. "There was no sexual assault or anything like that”
Chester has a feeling it was something different
"I think it had to be somebody that she knew and a group of friends that or maybe it could have been some stranger, asked her for something and she wasn't willing to give it to them," Chester said. "And they got violent, or it could have been an argument turned upside down."
'We are exactly one tip away'
Detective Garland urges anyone with information, even if it seems small, to come forward.
He explained in the moments after Sara was killed, many witnesses thought there was a car accident because she was found bleeding on the road. It wasn't immediately apparent to those around her what had happened.
"We are exactly one tip away," Garland said. "We have had a number of suspects in this case, a number of those are still viable suspects, we just need somebody to come forward."
Chester and the rest of the Burke family are also hoping for closure and justice.
"It's been so many years," Chester said." We are still hanging on to the hope that we will someday know who, or what or why."
'A Lesson in Life' by Sara Burke
Sara wrote often. She is remembered by her family as a smart, hardworking and thoughtful young woman. Two months before she died she wrote a short story titled, "A Lesson in Life."
Chester believes his daughter lived her life by these words. It reads, in part:
"Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good or bad luck.
If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them. For they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious of who you open your heart to.
If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love and opening your heart and eyes to things you would have never seen or felt without them.
Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again."
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