Evidence in Murrieta Triple Stabbing Warrants Trial

The events of Dec. 20, 2011 that left an 18-year-old Murrieta Valley High School student dead were rehashed Friday in a Southwest Justice Center courtroom.

The charges against William Gary Simpson Jr., 19, the alleged killer of Saskia Burke, were upheld by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Kelly Hansen following a day-long preliminary hearing.

Simpson is charged with first-degree murder and a special circumstance allegation of killing in the course of a burglary in the Dec. 20, 2011 fatal attack at the Burke home, 40025 Milkwood Lane in Murrieta.

He is also charged with a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait, as well as two counts of attempted murder and multiple great bodily injury and weapons allegations.

The hearing was to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on those charges.

Motions by the defense to close the hearing to the public and the media were denied.

Photos of Saskia's body, as well as the wounds suffered by her father, Paul Burke, and her boyfriend, 17-year-old Connor McCormack, were displayed in court.

The men were allegedly slashed and stabbed by Simpson during the attack. Both survived.

Photos of knives allegedly used as well as a bloodied living area were also shown.

Witnesses that included Murrieta police officers were interviewed and cross-examined.

During an afternoon portion of the hearing, Paul Burke took the stand.

The defendant had known the Burkes for years, before they relocated from the High Desert to Murrieta. According to police, he lived at the Murrieta residence for several months in 2010 but left after a falling-out.

"The look on his face, the expression he wore was nothing I've ever seen before," said Burke, when asked to describe his alleged encounter with Simpson as he came down the stairs to find his daughter's lifeless body bleeding and covered in stab wounds.

"When I first saw him it wasn't the Gary I knew; it was a demon. During the event it smiled when we attacked it," Burke said.

Simpson remains held without bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.

Accompanied Friday by his public defense team, Simpson sat wearing a light-blue dress shirt, tie and slacks.

The 6-foot-3, 140-pound defendant allegedly broke into the two-story Burke home shortly before 4 a.m. Dec. 20, 2011 and went on a rampage.

Witnesses alleged the defendant sneaked inside the residence and attacked Saskia, stabbing her multiple times in the computer room of the house.

Burke, 48, tangled with Simpson, who allegedly stabbed the man in the neck and chest.

"I first checked Saskia...then I felt dampness on my shoulder, the left side toward the center," Burke said.

He spent four to five days in the hospital recovering, and said he has two scars—one is an inch and the other an inch and a half.

Connor, who was visiting the house, also tried to subdue the defendant and was reportedly slashed across the neck.

Police said neighbors rushed to the residence in response to Catherine Burke's screams for help, and Simpson fled.

Murrieta police Detective Spencer Parker, who was sent to the hospital to interview Connor, was called as a witness.

Connor, who had ridden his bike to the Burke home from his job at the Movie Experience earlier that night, told police he heard Saskia's screams and went downstairs.

Connor was injured as he tried to help Paul subdue Simpson, Parker said.

"Connor staggers back then goes to the ground—remembers saying he was bleeding," Parker said, of what Connor recanted. "He is asking for help and is laying on ground. From that point he is in and out of consciousness. He can’t remember too much."

Paul Burke also said it was difficult to recall the exact timeline of events, but had no doubt it was Simpson who was in his house committing the attack.

"The exact chronological order of those events are blurry," Burke said.

A table in the computer room broke during the scuffle, during which Burke said he "gouged" Simpson's eyes and then struck him in the "groin area."

With Simpson identified as the suspect, he was tracked to and arrested at his mother's Hesperia home three days later.

No motive for the alleged attack has been disclosed.

The Riverside County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty in the case.

—City News Service contributed to this report.