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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Police kill man suspected in series of S.C. slayings

Mitch Weiss Associated Press

GAFFNEY, S.C. – The serial killer who terrorized a South Carolina community by shooting five people to death before police killed him Monday was a career criminal paroled just two months ago, authorities said.

Patrick Burris, 41, was shot to death by officers investigating a burglary complaint at a home in Gastonia, N.C., 30 miles from where the killing spree started June 27. Bullets in his gun matched those that killed residents in and around Gaffney over six days last week, said State Law Enforcement Division Chief Reggie Lloyd.

Investigators did not have an address for Burris. While evidence left no doubt he was the killer, they still had no idea why he did it.

“He was unpredictable. He was scary. He was weird,” said SLED Deputy Director Neil Dolan.

Burris had a long rap sheet filled with charges such as larceny, forgery and breaking and entering from states across the Southeast, including Florida, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. He had been paroled from a North Carolina prison in April after serving nearly eight years.

“Look at this,” Lloyd said, waiving a stapled copy of Burris’ criminal record. “This is like 25 pages. At some point the criminal justice system is going to need to explain why this suspect was out on the street.”

Mike and Terri Valentine, of Gastonia, called police early Monday to report a suspicious sport utility vehicle in their neighborhood, just a short drive from Gaffney.

They watched two people who sometimes visit the neighboring home get out of the vehicle, followed by a third man who matched the description of the killer: tall, heavyset, unshaven and wearing a baseball cap. The man appeared to be very drunk, Mike Valentine said.

Gaston County police said the other two people were in custody but did not indicate whether they were facing charges.

The Gaffney killings happened in a 10-mile area over six days. A peach farmer was killed June 27, an 83-year-old woman and her daughter were found bound and shot four days later, and the next day a father and his teen daughter were shot in their family’s store.

Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton said investigators will trace the suspect’s recent activities and try to figure out if he has killed others.

“Now we have someone we can focus on,” Blanton said.