Exclusive: Apology For Serial Killer Patrick Tracy Burris

****Update July 16, 6:50 p.m.****

Watch Part 1 of the interview above

Watch Part 2 of interview below

In an exclusive interview with News Channel 7 on Thursday, the uncle of serial killer Patrick Tracy Burris apologized to the families of his victims and asked for their forgiveness.
“Tracy caused so much pain because of the lives he took away and we want those families to know we are not insensitive to that,“ says John, who asked us not to use his last name out of fear over community backlash. “We are real people with good moral values, just like them.“
Burris was killed in a shootout with police on July 6th. Authorities say he is the man who randomly shot to death five people in Cherokee County in a one-week time span. John says his family was stunned to hear Burris was the killer.
“This is not the Tracy we knew. This is not the Tracy we loved,“ says John, who lives in the Upstate.
He says his family has the same questions everyone else does about the murders:

“Why did he do it? Why did he choose those victims?“

He says those answers likely died with his nephew. And he knows that is not good enough for the families of Kline Cash, Eva Linder, Gena Parker, and Stephen and Abby Tyler.
“Please accept our humble, true apologies, sincerely from our hearts,“ says John. “And please forgive Tracy for his actions. We are sorry for the pain he has caused.“

Watch Chris Cato’s exclusive interview: Uncle Of Serial Killer Offers Apology for Nephews Actions

**Update July 16, 5:30 p.m.**

Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton says investigators have more evidence linking Patrick Tracy Burris to two of the murder scenes in the serial killings.

“DNA and fingerprint evidence now links Burris to two of the three crime scenes in Cherokee County,“ states a news release sent out by the sheriff’s office Thursday evening.

It says the evidence links Burris to the homes of Eva Linder and Kline Cash. Linder and her daughter, Gena Parker, were shot to death inside Linder’s house on Buck Shoals Road on June 30th. Cash was shot to death three days earlier at his home on Battleground Road.

On July 1st, Stephen Tyler and his 15-year old daughter, Abby, were shot to death inside Tyler’s business in Gaffney. Gaffney Police are handling that investigation. Chief Rick Turner said on Thursday they are still awaiting test results from evidence collected at that crime scene.

Previously, investigators used ballistics tests to match a gun found on Burris to the bullets used in the five killings. They say his vehicle was also spotted at the three murder scenes.

****Update July 13, 6 p.m.****
Jail officials in North Carolina say one simple phone call is all it would have taken to keep Patrick Tracy Burris the Cherokee County serial killer behind bars.
But they say the call was never made.

15 days before the first murder Patrick Burris was arrested by his own parole officer for driving without a license.
Over the weekend his parole officer told media in Charlotte that she called the jail later that night asking them to hold onto Burris but they let him go.
But the detention center says the call was never made and they can prove it.
at 10:30 a.m. Burris drove himself to the parole office which is a violation of parole because he wasn’t supposed to be driving.

The Lincoln County sheriff’s office says that’s not true.
They say they pulled phone records from that day and the jail never received a call from the parole officer.

Late Monday afternoon a spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Corrections says the information in the Charlotte Observer is not accurate.

Read full story

****Update July 10, 10:30 a.m.****

CrimeStoppers has decided to give a $30,000 reward to Michael and Terry Valentine for their call that authorities say led finding Patrick Burris.

The Cherokee County Sheriff and the State Law enforcement Division say Burris was the man who killed five people.

Read Full Story

****Update July 9, 11:55 a.m.****

The P.A.C.E. Center is conducting a workshop Thursday night to help the community cope with recent tragedies in our community. It begins at 2 p.m. in the conference room of the Cherokee County campus of Spartanburg Community College.  Dr. Roger Rhoades will be the presenter at the workshop. The P.A.C.E Center is also offering free counseling to victims of violent crime and their families in Cherokee County. The P.A.C.E. Center also offers a free grief support group each Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m. in its Spartanburg office. For more information about the P.A.C.E. Center click here. Or you can call 864-583-5802.

Here are a few tips on helping children through tragedy:

Comfort your children
Be honest and open
Encourage you children to express their feelings
Maintain daily routines
Limit their media exposure

****Update July 8, 3:15 pm****
The Cherokee County Sheriff says his deputies did find DNA and fingerprints at all three crime scenes.

Although it could take months before they get the results they do believe it will further prove Patrick Burris is the killer. Investigators have already announced ballistics evidence proves his gun was used at the three crime scenes where five people were murdered.  The sheriff is also recommending the Valentines, the couple who called 911, should get all of the reward money.

The Valentines are giving all their credit to the dog. They say their one-pound puppy woke them up early Monday morning when they looked out the window they saw some people hanging outside of an abandoned home. One of those people investigators say was Patrick Burris the serial killer.
The Valentines say people who knew the victims have come by their home to say thanks.

Investigators are working with authorities in Florida and North Carolina to see if Burris is linked to any cases in those states.

****Update July 8, 11:50 a.m.****
A man who claims he knew Patrick Burris is speaking out.  WSOC-TV reports Jimmy Vargas was at the Gaston County Jail on Tuesday asking for a refund of the bond money that he put up when Burris was arrested on a probation violation charge. Vargas says his mother was engaged to Burris but Vargas says they had no idea he could be responsible for a killing spree. Vargas said his mother met Burris while he was servicing to at the Dallas Correctional Facility. Vargas told the television station that Burris moved into a home with his mother in Vale after he was paroled in April 2009. In June he left the home and disappeared. Read more here.

****Update July 8, 11:30 a.m.****
Patrick Tracy Burris may be gone, but the memories he left behind in Cherokee County may never go away. Burris’ 10-day killing spree left this small rural county of 50,000 shocked, saddened, and outraged. Tuesday night, the last two victims of Burris’ rampage were remembered by hundreds who gathered for a visitation service. Stephen Tyler and his 15-year old daughter Abby were typical of this hard-working community. Both were raised in the county, both had many friends and relatives still living in the area. Their funerals will be held on Wednesday afternoon. The service begins at 4:00 p.m. at the Cherokee Avenue Baptist Church at 805 Cherokee Avenue in Gaffney. 

That’s what makes it so hard for the people of Cherokee County. How personal the killings are. Many have called the newsroom to say just that, how close to home the deaths of the five have hit. You can see it in the eyes of Sheriff Bill Blanton, and hear it in the strain of his voice. You can see it in every officer and investigator who worked the case. This was personal. These killings had to be stopped.

And so early Monday morning in another rural town, Dallas, NC, it ended the way it began. Violent. Burris was shot and killed by officers responding to a burglary call. To all, a sigh of relief for ending the ordeal, to another family, grief in knowing what your son may have been involved in.

In an exclusive statement to News Channel 7, the immediate family of Patrick Burris said, “We have not seen Patrick for many years and it is a great shock to learn of what he is accused of doing. If the accusations about him are true, he is not the same person we used to know, and if he did indeed do these terrible things, then our hearts go out to all the families and friends of the people who have died. Nothing that can be said or done will erase what has happened. We are so very sorry for the loss and pain that they must be in. Sincerely, F. Burris & R. Burris”.

Those who call the newsroom speak of how the “innocence” of the county has gone, and how it may be gone for good. Many have gone back to the last time the county was gripped in fear, the days of the Gaffney Strangler. Soon after the strangler was brought to justice, people eventually moved on. Today, folks in Cherokee County will eventually move on. But as back then, they may move on, but they will never forget.