A Marine veteran known for his decorated service and humanitarian work allegedly died at the hands of three young adults and a juvenile at his home in Columbia, Missouri Sunday when a Facebook Marketplace sale went awry.
Michael Ryan Burke, 42, managed to call 911 and provide descriptions of the assailants before texting, “Hey, I’m dying and I love you,’ to his mother and sister, according to Fox News.
“‘He always put people in front of him and wanted to make sure people knew how he felt. He didn’t want to go on to the next life and pass away without providing some information to us here that would bring justice to these people and let people know he always loves them,’” said friend Jerry Reifeiss in an interview with KRGC.
The Columbia Police Department booked three eighteen-year-olds and an unidentified juvenile, according a statement released Tuesday, for charges including second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. (RELATED: Democrats Take Over State, Immediately Move To Soften Crime Laws)
UPDATE: CPD seeking second degree murder charges against four suspects in murder of veteran Michael Burke – https://t.co/TGk5BeoCDS pic.twitter.com/Zx7ygJWonC
— 939 the Eagle, KSSZ in Columbia, Mo. (@939TheEagle) January 20, 2026
Burke was a graduate of the University of Missouri and served his country both as a soldier and as a humanitarian spending significant time working around the globe including in Uganda, Haiti and Iraq. He continued service at home as a firefighter according to Fox News.
Fr. Salar Kajo, a priest of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter, spoke to the Daily Caller about Burke’s special relationship with the Christians of Iraq. “He helped a lot to rebuild and remodel the kindergarten of Teleskof,” a Christian city previously overrun by ISIS on the Nineveh Plain, said Fr. Kajo.
He “dedicated his heart to family, to God, and also to help the people, especially he loved the people of Iraq,” said Fr. Kajo who served as pastor in the Iraqi Christian town of Al-Qosh.
“He especially was taking care of children. Always the money he sent was for schools and children that were sick.”
