(NewsNation) — The husband of a Florida woman whose skeletal remains were found in 2007 has been named a person of interest in the case by the Sarasota, Florida County Sheriff’s Office
Jeana Lynn Burrus was found to be 39 years old when she died. She lived with her husband, James Burrus, and their son James Burrus Jr.
“Her husband, it’s our understanding left, the state of Florida, went out west to California eventually ended up in Maryland shortly after the time that she was last seen,” said Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman.
Hoffman said detectives traveled to Maryland to interview Jame Burrus but weren’t satisfied with his answers, adding he’s now the main focus of their investigation.
“They don’t appear to be answers that are rational from a person who was married to somebody and they disappeared. And then he moved out of state and never called authorities to report her missing,” he said.
Hoffman said the only other people they’ve identified that were connected to Jeana were her aunt and uncle.
“Her aunt and uncle were interviewed. They were actually the party that had put their DNA into a familial DNA database that connected us to them, and then eventually to Jeana’s father,” he said. “They were living out of state and just assume that she had drifted out of their life and had not contacted them. They were not aware that she was missing.”
The medical examiner’s office found blunt force trauma to Jeana’s body, leading investigators to treat this case as a homicide,” Hoffman said.
Deputies said on Feb. 6, 2007, Jeana Burrus’ skeletal remains were found buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area in Sarasota.
The case was cold until November 2022, when the sheriff’s office and DNA Labs International Inc. positively identified the remains using DNA testing and genetic genealogy.
Deputies stated that Jeana was never reported missing by her family, and her whereabouts were never questioned.
Prior to moving to Sarasota County, Jeana and her husband lived in Citrus County, Florida as well as Frederick, Maryland.
Hoffman said their son, Jame Burrus Jr., was in elementary school in Florida at the time of his mother’s disappearance and he’s not living with his father in Maryland.
“We’ve interviewed him and other family members as well. So his recollection of events, based on his age at the time, was not very helpful,” Hoffman said.
Anyone who may have known either Jeana or James Burrus or has information regarding her death is asked to contact the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Ng at 941-861-4900.
