Fred Burke - Downfall and Death

Downfall and Death

Following the St. Valentines Day massacre, Fred Burke continued his pattern of armed robberies and the occasional murder. The beginning of the end happened however in December 1929. An intoxicated and paranoid Burke, using the alias Fred Dane, was involved in a minor traffic accident in St. Joseph, Michigan. When Patrolman Charles Skalay (sometimes mistakenly identified as Skelly) arrived at the wreck scene he was shot and killed by Burke. Now named America's most wanted man, Fred Burke fled to rural northern Missouri to "lay low". A Michigan police bulletin offering a $1,000 dollar reward said in underscored type: This man is dangerous and will shoot to kill and every precaution should be used in making his arrest. Among the aliases listed for Burke were Fred Dean, Fred Campbell, and Theodore Cameron. Burke took on yet another alias back in Missouri, that of Richard F. White. In 1930 Burke married a woman from Sullivan County, Missouri, Bonnie Porter, and took up residence near Green City in Sullivan County. However, even while hiding from the law Burke could not give up his criminal ways. According to an eyewitness account in an article in The Chariton Collector magazine, Burke resided in a Kirksville, Missouri hotel for a few days prior to a local bank robbery. Later his wife would claim no knowledge of Burke's real identity or his criminal past and thought her husband was just a businessman who travelled a lot.
The long arm of the law finally caught Fred Burke on March 26, 1931 in a most unlikely manner. An amateur detective in the Green City area had read of Burke and seen his picture in True Detective magazine, recognized him as Richard White, and notified authorities. Fred Burke was captured at the home of his father-in-law, surprisingly without a single gunshot being fired. Returned to Michigan, Burke was convicted of Officer Skalay's murder and given a life sentence at Marquette State Prison. Having been in failing health with diabetes and heart disease for several years, Fred Burke died of a massive heart attack while behind bars on July 10, 1940.