45-year-old Burke was charged with open murder and felony firearms on January 27th, 2021, when he allegedly shot and killed his 29-year-old wife, Jessica Burke, in their Elwell home.
Troy Burke claimed that QAnon conspiracy theorists told him his wife was working for the CIA.
According to Gratiot County Prosecutor Keith Kushion, Burke was ordered to undergo a competency examination conducted by state forensic psychologists who found that he was not criminally responsible for his actions at the time of the murder. RELATED: Inside QAnon’s ‘Serpent DNA’ Theory That FBI Say Influenced A California Dad To Kill His Two Kids Kushion requested a second, independent psychiatric evaluation of Burke which subsequently came “to the same conclusion” that Burke was not fit to stand trial, Kushion said. The same day Burke allegedly shot his wife three times, killing her, he confessed to his crimes and told investigators at a hospital in Grand Rapids that he had a “neuro-link” implanted in his brain. A “neuro-link” is basically a microchip that could be implanted on your brain that would be able to connect your brain to a computer with the hopes of advancing technology and engineering. Endeavors are led by scientists and tech moguls like Elon Musk, and have been widely criticized and have led to conspiracies being made up by people who believe that they just want to control the masses. “He said that other people could read his thoughts,” Kushion noted. Burke told police that QAnon members were sending him messages on his tablet device, telling him that his wife was a “CIA asset” that was involved in a sex trafficking ring, and that Burke needed to kill her. RELATED: 8-Year-Old French Girl Kidnapped In QAnon Conspiracy Plot As The Far-Right Group Spreads To Europe “He also said that (President) Joe Biden had twins, a daughter and a son, and that the son had a sex change and that’s who his wife was,” Kushion said. According to Kushion, his medical records show that Burke had actually been hospitalized several times in the past due to psychological issues.
Attorney Sarah Huyser, who represented Burke since the murder took place, shared her perspective on Burke’s psychological issues.
“He believed them. They may sound illogical to us,” Huyser said, according to ABC 12. “They may, when we hear them, we are thinking that’s crazy for the lack of a better way to say that, but imagine being in the mindset where all of that is very real and very scary.” Judge Schlegel ordered Burke to undergo additional tests at the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti for the next couple of months, but it’s likely that after that, he might be placed in a state mental health institution for the rest of his life. He will be re-evaluated at times while he’s there, and could possibly be released from their custody, but Huyser said it’s “going to depend on where those delusions are and where that mental illness is." RELATED: QAnon ‘Shaman’ Who Stormed The Capitol Quotes Forrest Gump In Request For Light Sentence Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.
