Harrisburg man faces murder charges in death of his estranged wife

Carla Burns, 49, of Marion, was last seen by friends and family on March 8 in Saline County. According to law enforcement, that was the day she was killed.

Saline County Coroner Jerry Watson said during a press conference on Friday that a cause of death and time of death had not yet been established. But three felony charges were filed Thursday against Brian Burns, 56, of Harrisburg, in Carla Burns' death . Carla's and Brian's marriage was being dissolved in divorce proceedings at the time of her death.

During the Friday press conference at the Saline County Detention Center, Saline County Sheriff Keith Brown; along with Marion police Chief Dawn Tondini and Saline County Chief Deputy Ken Clore discussed the status of the case.

Saline County deputies arrested Burns without incident Wednesday morning. Charges against Burns were filed on Thursday by the Saline County State's Attorney's office.

Burns is charged with two counts of first degree murder, and one count of concealment of a death. According to the charges, Burns is accused of shooting his estranged wife, and burning her corpse to conceal the crime. Burns' bail has been set at $10 million, or a $1 million cash bond.

According to Tondini, the Marion police department received the initial missing person's report on the afternoon of March 10. Marion Detective Maria Dwyer was placed in charge of the investigation, and when the investigation led to Saline County, the Marion Police contacted the sheriff's office.

Burns had been estranged from his wife since the time she filed for divorce in Hamilton County in December 2014. The case was later moved to Saline County when the couple moved to 150 Baker Lane in Harrisburg.

Carla Burns alleged that "irreconcilable differences," along with "constant verbal abuse" from her husband led to her desire to file. According to the divorce proceedings, Brian Burns also reportedly took all of the funds from the couple's joint bank accounts, $63,058.74, and closed the accounts without notifying her, which left her broke.

The missing funds led Carla Burns, an associate degree nursing instructor at Southeastern Illinois University, to ask the court to grant her temporary living status in their home, and for an equitable division of their marital assets and of any debt.

During the course of the divorce proceedings, Burns also filed two temporary restraining orders against her husband, according to records, because she was worried that the alleged verbal abuse would escalate into physical abuse.

Brian Burns, a hospitalist at the Harrisburg Medical Center through Morthland College Health Services, filed a counter petition against his wife, when Burns admitted to committing adultery.

The two were supposed to meet in court on March 10, the day Burns was reported missing.

The case against Brian Burns is currently ongoing and active. Burns will make his first appearance in Saline County Court at 10 a.m. on Monday.\Anyone with any information regarding the case is asked to contact either the Marion Police Department at (618)-993-2124, or the Saline County Sheriff's Office at (618)-252-8661.