The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Homicide Unit charged a man in connection with the fatal shooting of his wife and son at their Fort Washington home. The suspect is 62-year-old Michael Kevin Burch. The victims are 52-year-old Rori Burch and 25-year-old Michael Burch, Jr. The suspect also shot another victim, an adult male, whose injuries are not considered life-threatening.
On August 31, 2023, at approximately 5:45 pm, officers responded to the 1900 block of Tall Timber Court for the report of a shooting. When patrol officers arrived, the suspect refused to exit his home prompting a barricade to be called. For several hours, the Emergency Services Team and PGPD negotiators attempted to communicate with Burch but were unsuccessful. At approximately 10:45 pm, EST officers entered the home and took Burch into custody without incident. Rori Burch was located deceased in the yard. The son was located deceased inside of the home. The preliminary investigation revealed the surviving victim is a neighbor who had gone to the home to offer help after Burch shot his wife. Burch shot the neighbor when the neighbor knocked on the front door.
Burch is charged with first degree murder, attempted murder and related charges. The motive remains under investigation. This double murder is now the 17th domestic-related murder the PGPD has investigated this year.
If anyone has information relevant to this investigation, they are asked to please call detectives at 301-516-2512.
Anyone with information who wants to contact Crime Solvers may call 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), or go online at www.pgcrimesolvers.com, or use the “P3 Tips” mobile app (search “P3 Tips” in the Apple Store or Google Play to download the app onto your mobile device.) You can remain anonymous. Please refer to case number 23-0051546.
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Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: https://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at https://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at https://so.md/expungeme.