Opinion ID: 2557847
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Police Investigated A Murder And Arrested Jackson.

Text: On April 3, 1992, police recovered Elizabeth Girardi's dead body from her driveway. The apparent victim of a bungled burglary of her home, she died as the result of repeated blows to her face with an axe. Police began investigating the circumstances surrounding her death. On April 9, two menJames Burton and Carl Rocapawned a bracelet that had been stolen from Girardi's home. Police had warned pawn shop owners in the area to look out for certain pieces of property that had been stolen from the Girardi home, and when the shop owner recognized the bracelet, he contacted police. That day, police obtained warrants authorizing them to search Burton's and Roca's residences and take Burton and Roca into custody to obtain clothing, fingerprints, and hair and blood samples from them. Police quickly learned that Burton was living with a man named Robert Jackson, and while conducting surveillance in the area around their apartment, police observed Burton and two other unidentified men drive away. The police stopped the car for two traffic violations. Anthony Lachette was driving the car, Jackson was in the front passenger seat, and Burton was in the backseat. Because the car only had two doors, in order for Burton to get out of the car, either Jackson or Lachette had to get out and fold their seat forward. When Lachette's driver door opened, police noticed a 14 inch metal pipe wedged between his driver's seat and the door. Then, when folding the driver's seatback forward to let Burton out of the car, police noticed a plastic bag of marijuana wedged into the space where the seatback and the seat cushion meet. Police arrested all three on concealed deadly weapon and marijuana charges. That night, under police interrogation, Burton denied any knowledge of Jackson's involvement in Girardi's murder. Lachette, however, admitted to his personal involvement in the Girardi burglary, and he also implicated Jackson for murdering Girardi. Upon learning this information, police arrested Jackson for the Girardi burglary and murder. When police questioned Burton again nearly three weeks later, he corroborated Lachette's allegations regarding Jackson's role in the murder.