A jury has been selected for the Sept. 25 trial of Robert Burton, a man charged with killing his former girlfriend in June 2015 and leading police on one of the longest manhunts in state history.
The trail will be held at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor.
Burton, 40, is charged with murdering Stephanie Gebo in the Piscataquis County town of Parkman. Indicted by a grand jury in October 2015, he pleaded not guilty to the charge in December 2015 in Piscataquis County Superior Court in Dover-Foxcroft. A jury of nine men and six women have been selected for the trial, which starts Monday.
Gebo was killed the day after Burton’s probation for a domestic violence conviction that sent him to prison for 10 years ended. Gebo’s children told police that Burton had lived with them for about two years at 46 Kulas Road in Parkman and that he had moved out May 31 to live with his parents. He allegedly returned June 5 and shot Gebo to death.
Gebo, 37, a single mother of two, was shot to death with a pistol, according to police. She had broken up with Burton a week earlier and was so afraid of him that she had changed the house locks and slept with a handgun under her pillow, police said. Gebo was discovered by her 13-year-old daughter, who called 911. As she was calling, she saw a camouflage backpack and jacket outside that she recognized as Burton’s. Inside the backpack police said they later found a knife, duct tape and medication in bottles prescribed to Burton. Police said they also found Burton’s cellphone in the jacket.
Gebo was found unresponsive and was tied up with duct tape.
The death was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner, who found multiple gunshot wounds to the lungs, spinal area and trachea.
Burton was on the run for 68 days, making it one of the longest manhunts in state history. Police believed he had been living in the woods before he gave himself up at the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department, saying he was afraid he was going to be shot by police.
Burton is represented by Bangor attorney Hunter Tzovarras, who replaced Jeffrey Toothaker after Burton sought a new lawyer. Burton filed a handwritten motion, received in the Penobscot court, complaining about his attorney and seeking new legal representation. The proceedings had been planned for August 2016 but were postponed because Burton wanted a new attorney.
Assistant Attorneys General John Alsop and Don Macomber are prosecuting the case, and Superior Court Justice Robert Mullen is presiding over the trial. The trial was moved from Dover-Foxcroft in Piscataquis County to Bangor in Penobscot County because of concerns about pre-trial publicity.
Colin Ellis — 861-9253
cellis@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @colinoellis
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