On March 20th, 2017, Juliane Burke and her son, who was only 6 years old at the time, were walking to their home on St. Peter Street in the Kings Park Area. They were a short distance away when her brother, Elijah, came sprinting at her with a machete. He chased them into the street, and he chopped Juliane multiple times in the presence of her young son, fatally injuring her.

In a statement he gave to police, he said that he was looking for somebody to rob and that he didn't realize that it was his own sister that he killed. He appeared to be mentally ill, and so Justice Marilyn Williams scheduled his sentencing hearing for today, so that he could prepare a mitigation plea, and also be assessed by a psychiatrist.

He did not call any character witnesses, but he told the court that he was sorry for what he did. His attorney, Darrell Bradley, submitted to the court on his behalf that at the time, he was hungry and homeless, and that he cooperated with the police, instead of trying to hide what he had done. He has been in prison in the past, and received medication for psychosis.

Senior Crown Counsel Sheneiza Smith told the court that there are aggravating factors against Elijah Burke. She pointed out that the victim's murder happened in the presence of her son, and that no assessment has been done to determine the extent of the psychological trauma he suffered because he watched his uncle kill his mother. Elijah Burke also had 2 previous convictions.