Lesbian journalist Carol Anne Burger committed suicide last Thursday minutes before police were set to question her about the gruesome murder of her wife, businesswoman Jessica Kalish, who’s pictured on the right.
The women, who wed in 2005, separated last year, but stayed living in the home they shared since 2000. Though admittedly depressed over the break-up, Burger, who worked for Huffington Post, seemed to be pulling through, her friends say, but something went horribly awry last week.
According to investigators, Burger stabbed Kalish 222 times in the back of the with a screwdriver, stuffed her body into Kalish’s BMW and parked the car behind a medical office. A pedestrian found Kalish’s keys and wallet on Thursday, and called Burger’s home in an attempt to return the items. It was only then that Burger reported Kalish missing and claimed her lover had gone to the gym Wednesday night and never returned. Police were suspicious from the get-go. And rightfully so:
As investigators studied the case, several telltale signs, including the ferocity and personal nature of the attack, pointed to Burger, they said.
But before they could question her, Burger walked out into her back yard, pressed a gun up under her chin and pulled the trigger, police said. Detectives found her body there last Thursday but couldn’t locate a suicide note.
In the days that followed, detectives and crime scene investigators put together this theory:
On Wednesday night, Kalish exercised at LA Fitness at 2290 N. Congress Ave. and was home by 9:30 p.m. A confrontation ensued, and she probably was dead by midnight.
After stabbing Kalish, Burger put her in the BMW and drove her to the Congress Avenue site. She walked home, a distance of about 2 1/2 miles.
Burger cleaned up the garage and used the washing machine and bathroom sink, where traces of Kalish’s blood were later detected. She got into her Toyota Celica, drove to Gateway Boulevard and tossed out Kalish’s keys and wallet.
On Tuesday night, detectives proved their theory, said Lt. Gary Chapman, who heads the department’s major crimes squad.
Using Luminol, a chemical agent that causes blood traces to fluoresce under ultraviolet light, they found a “tremendous amount of blood” splattered throughout the garage, where the attack must have taken place, Chapman said. The Luminol also revealed Burger’s glowing sneaker prints on the garage floor, mapping her steps after she walked through her old flame’s blood.
Simply awful.
Mark
Unfortunately, gay people are not immune to psychotic breaks. I’m glad it’s totally done with. When this happens (murder/suicide) it prevents the entire nation from having to sit thru hearing about the sordid details.
That’s why I was glad Dahmer got his comeuppance.
gueller
Well, at least Carol Anne Burger did the right thing and killed herself.
lyssa
whew….dyke drama strikes again?
What happened to the good old days when lesbians just sent hate mail and stalked each other?
SIP8257
This is truly a loss of two highly intelligent women. A lesson to be learned, don’t live with an ex lover especially if she has a new girlfriend.
Very very sad
TANK
Domestic violence is just as much problem in the lgbt communities as in the hetero communities…we just don’t hear about it as much. And make no mistake, this was a DV murder suicide. Why don’t they just kill themselves?
SIP8257
@gueller:
A person who kills another or themself is not doing the right thing. This is a very sad situation where emotions and mental illness was the real culprit.
TANK
A lesson to be learned, don’t live with an ex lover especially if she has a new girlfriend.
Because, ya know, of course if you do…then you’ll up butchering the ex and killing yourself, right?
TANK
@SIP8257:
And no, mental illness is not the culprit…dv is not attributable to mental illness. Lots of murder suicides occur as a result of domestic violence, and mental illness is not even a secondary reason.