Armstrong County man charged with brutal murder of his father

An Armstrong County man has been charged with the brutal murder of his father.

George Burdette III, 30, is charged with killing his father, George Burdette Jr., 59, after the two got in an argument in the trailer that they shared on Little Road in Sugarcreek, Pennsylvania State Police and the Armstrong County District Attorney’s Office said at a news conference Saturday afternoon in Kittanning.

Burdette III’s girlfriend, Cheyanna Lebaron, told police that he threw a cup of bleach in his father’s face and beat him with a wooden baseball bat late Tuesday night, splitting his head open. She said that she placed a blanket over Mr. Burdette Jr. and that she and his son took sleeping pills and slept for several hours, officials said.

According to police, Mr. Burdette Jr. and Burdette III got in the argument on Tuesday. Ms. Lebaron told police that the argument was about Mr. Burdette Jr. disrespecting her earlier that day. Burdette III expressed wanting to kill his father after the fight, she said.

According to officials, the couple then moved Mr. Burdette Jr.’s body to a wooded area off Burns Hill Road, about two tenths of a mile from his house.

Burdette III came back and set the trailer on fire around 6 a.m. Wednesday, destroying much of the evidence, officials said.

Police officials were unable to find Mr. Burdette Jr.’s body at the scene, so they asked his son and girlfriend to come to the home. When they arrived, Burdette III told officials that he had not seen his father in a few days, officials said. He told the police he had last seen him with an unknown white woman in a blue Pontiac Sunfire.

Trooper Brett Stivason, the lead investigator, advised Burdette III to report his father as missing but according to officials, he did not.

Mr. Burdette Jr.’s niece, Laura Krizmanich, filed a missing person’s report Thursday after she couldn’t get in touch with him, officials said. She had noticed that her uncle wasn’t posting on Facebook. He was always on social media, she told police.

On Friday, Trooper Stivason learned that Burdette III had sold a firearm to a relative even though he has a felony record. Police arrested Burdette III at his girlfriend’s mother’s home in Ford City for the firearm violation, officials said.

After police asked Ms. Lebaron about Mr. Burdette Jr.’s whereabouts, she confessed that she had helped her boyfriend move his father’s body and led police to the scene. Officials did not say whether she would be charged in the case.

Burdette III is charged with homicide and abuse of a corpse.

The Armstrong County coroner ruled that Mr. Burdette Jr. died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Police obtained search warrants for various locations on Saturday morning and will continue to look for evidence in the homicide.