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A false Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy theory may have prompted a Maryland man to kill three people last week, including his pharmacist brother, authorities said.
Police said Jeffrey Burnham, 46, of Cumberland, Md., Killed a longtime family friend, stole his car, then drove about 130 miles to Ellicott City, Md. , where he had shot his brother and sister-in-law in their home.
He had become convinced that his brother, Brian Robinette, 58, was working with the government to poison people with vaccines, according to a charge sheet filed by police in Howard County District Court. Rumors and misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines have circulated widely for months, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that they are safe and effective.
Detectives said Mr Burnham’s mother Evelyn called Cumberland Police on September 29, worrying about her son’s sanity and fears the FBI was after the two of them.
Evelyn Burnham, who lived with her son, also said he believed there was a government effort to use vaccines to kill people, and that her brother was involved, according to the indictment document.
“He said over and over ‘Brian knows something’,” the statement said.
Howard County Police said on September 30 they found the bodies of Mr. Robinette in the lobby and his wife, Kelly Sue Robinette, in an upstairs bedroom of their home in Ellicott City. Both had been shot dead.
There were .40 caliber cartridge cases all over the house, according to a statement filed by police at Howard County Circuit Court. Within 400 yards of the house, authorities found a car that belonged to Rebecca Reynolds, 83, a Cumberland resident who had been friends with Evelyn Burnham.
Police say Mr Burnham, who lived eight miles from Ms Reynolds, killed her on September 29, stole her 2020 Lincoln Corsair, and then drove him east to her home. brother.
Mr Burnham was charged with three counts of first degree murder and was being held without bail. It was not clear from court documents whether Mr Burnham had a lawyer.
Police said a neighbor of Ms Reynolds discovered her body around 7:30 p.m. on September 29, after he went to her home to monitor her.
The man told investigators that he and Ms Reynolds talk to each other on a daily basis and that he was worried he had not seen her that day, according to a charge sheet filed by Cumberland Police in court in Allegany County District.
When he entered the house, the neighbor found Mrs. Reynolds on the couch. Her throat had been slit and there was a pillow over her face. A vase and a cane had been knocked over, indicating there had been a struggle, according to a police report.
Police found the Robinettes after following the Lincoln to their address.
After killing the couple, authorities said, Mr Burnham stole his brother’s red Corvette and fled. The murders sparked a desperate search for Mr Burnham, who police described as “armed and dangerous”.
Police said an informant called Maryland State Police and told them that at 4:45 p.m. on September 30, Mr Burnham came to his home and asked for gas.
The man told investigators Mr Burnham had said he would “see him on television”, according to court documents.
“Burnham further said his brother was ‘killing people with the Covid shot’,” police said in court documents.
At 9 a.m. on October 1, West Virginia Police found the Corvette and Mr. Burnham on the side of a road in Davis, a small mountain town about 189 miles west of Ellicott City. .
Howard County Police said in a statement that West Virginia State Police had arrested him without incident.
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