Man accused of stabbing 8-year-old 146 times is convicted after making the mom testify
A jury deliberated less than 15 minutes before finding a Pennsylvania man guilty of killing an 8-year-old, court records show.
Keith Lamont Burley represented himself in court while he was on trial for the stabbing death of 8-year-old Mark “Markie” Mason, according to WKBN. This meant that when Mason’s mom, Maram Ford, testified, she had to answer Burley’s questions in court.
At one point during his questioning he began asking Ford about their relationship and Facebook posts, to which she stated none of that mattered because he killed her son, the New Castle News reported.
Burley was arrested in July 2019 after, police say, he attacked Ford in her car, then kidnapped Mason and his 7-year-old brother. Burley took the boys to a home where he stabbed Mason more than 140 times in front of his brother and two other youths, according to a criminal complaint.
Mason’s brother testified he saw Burley come out of a bedroom with a knife and a gun then “he jumped on Markie and was stabbing him.” He said he watched Burley stab his brother and he hit Burley with a chair to try and stop him, New Castle News reported.
When District Attorney Joshua Lamancusa asked Ford about the kids’ relationship with Burley she said, “They liked him a lot…They called him Bud,” according to the New Castle News.
Lamancusa told the court evidence showed Mason had been stabbed 146 times, the Sharon Herald reported.
The jury deliberated for less than 15 minutes Monday, Aug. 28, according to WKBN.
Burley was found guilty of first degree murder, second degree murder, two counts of kidnapping to inflict injury, and simple assault, court records show. He will be sentenced on Sept. 19.
In Pennsylvania, someone convicted of first degree murder can be sentenced to life imprisonment, according to the state statues.
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