Shreveport Police Dept.

Date: May 01, 2007

Phone: 318/673-6932 Fax: 318/673-6933

Contact: Kacee Hargrave, Public Information Officer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Man charged with double murder

Shreveport Police have charged a Shreveport man with two counts of first-degree murder for last week's double homicide of a quadriplegic and his caretaker.

Jonathan Rosalie, 26, was arrested last Wednesday -- a day after the homicide -- for illegal possession of stolen things. Detectives went to a hotel room where Rosalie was living and found items that had been stolen from the apartment of 35-year-old Jerry Burns.

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 24, firefighters responded to a fire call at Burns' apartment located in the 3400 block of Mertis Street. Burns and his 66-year-old caretaker Tony Stickell were found dead inside. It appears that they were killed and then a fire was possibly set to cover the crime.

After looking into the case extensively for the past week, detectives were able to obtain enough evidence to upgrade the charge against Rosalie to capital murder.

-spd-

View all SPD press releases at www.ci.shreveport.la.us/dept/police/spdnews