BERNALILLO, N.M., July 24 (UPI) -- A man suspected of killing a young couple on a Canadian beach in 1972 has died in a shootout that also killed a New Mexico police officer.
Investigators said they believe Joseph Henry Burgess had been living for more than a decade in the Jemez Mountains, The Sacramento Bee reported Thursday. The area had been plagued by break-ins at cabins.
"We never could get fingerprints from any crime entries, because he was pretty careful about leaving any trace of anything behind," Sandoval County Sheriff John Paul Trujillo said. "We just could never catch up with this guy."
Burgess, who moved from New Jersey to Canada to avoid the draft, was living in a commune on Vancouver Island in 1972. He allegedly shot two students as they slept on Radar Beach.
Burgess is also a suspect in a 2004 killing in Sonoma County in California, also a young couple sleeping on a beach. There is no evidence yet, although in the Canadian killing police have Burgess' fingerprints.
Sgt. Joe Harris and his partner staked out a mountain cabin in New Mexico last week. Burgess broke a window to get in and mortally wounded Harris, who was able to return fire.
