A North Pole man is accused of shooting the mother of his infant son, then attempting to kill himself at a home in the Interior Alaska town, according to a criminal complaint in the case.
Russell W. Burris, 33, was indicted Thursday on first-degree murder charges in the death of 21-year-old Mandy Clemmons.
Clemmons was found lying face down beneath a blue tarp in a driveway off Larissa Drive Monday, dead from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. Responding officers found a pink handbag lying in front of her and a single spent .40-caliber casing about 3 feet from her body.
According to the account in the indictment, a neighbor called 911 after Burris' mother discovered Clemmons' body.
Several yards away from Clemmons' body, investigators said, they found Burris, "unresponsive and laying on the ground." Near him was an empty gas can, a bottle of acetaminophen and a partial bottle of tiki oil. He was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
A crime scene investigation also found pills scattered on the ground, a smoldering brush pile and a .40-caliber Springfield semi-automatic pistol beneath a motor home not far from Clemmons' body. There was a round in the gun's chamber and seven more in the magazine, investigators said. Two spent casings matching the gun were found at the scene -- one near Clemmons and a second near the motor home, the complaint said.
"In addition, there appeared to be blood evidence on the slide of the pistol," the complaint said.
Clemmons and Burris had at one point been in a relationship, according to the complaint. According to an account provided to investigators, the two had been married but only "unofficially" because they never turned in the paperwork.
Online court records show the two had been involved in an ongoing child custody battle over their 7-month-old son since December, and had a hearing in the case five days before Clemmons was killed.
Burris had also been facing legal troubles. He'd been on federal probation for bank fraud and recently tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the complaint. On the day of the alleged murder, Burris' mother was supposed to take him to the Alaska Monitoring and Drug Testing office, AMDT's director told investigators.
Burris' probation stipulated that he not possess firearms, ammunition, destructive devices or other weapons, credit or debit cards and that he submit to mandatory drug testing.
According to the indictment, the .40-caliber pistol belonged to Burris' mother, who at first denied owning the gun. She later retracted the statement and said she'd removed the gun from her residence to the motor home, as her son was not allowed to be around firearms, the indictment said.
The indictment also said authorities recovered an audio recording they say implicates Burris in the death of Clemmons.
Burris is expected back in court April 10.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.