Jackson Jambalaya

This article is reprinted with permission of the Laurel Leader Call.

Greg Burroughs will have to answer in a criminal court for the death of 23-year-old Katherine Sinclair, who died from a gunshot to the head in the garage of his half-million-dollar home on the night of June 1.

Burroughs, 38, was indicted for manslaughter by the Jones County grand jury on Thursday, District Attorney Tony Buckley said. The 22 grand jurors had the option of indicting Burroughs for murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter, or they could have “no-billed” the case, meaning it wouldn’t go to trial. They unanimously decided on manslaughter.

Credit: Laurel Leader Call

 “They came back after about 30 minutes,” Buckley said. “They came back with an indictment of manslaughter, heat of an argument. I think the right decision was reached. It was not premeditated.”

Burroughs will have his initial appearance and bond hearing before Judge Dal Williamson in Jones County Circuit Court in Laurel at 10 a.m. on Monday. Manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. There is also the possibility of an enhancement of five years for using a weapon in the commission of the crime.

Grand jury decisions are supposed to be secret until an indictment is served, but an exception was made in this case because the judge and the court clerks were not available and it was going to be at least Friday until any of the paperwork could get done. That’s why Burroughs wasn’t served and arrested right after the decision, Buckley said.

Sinclair’s parents and Burroughs’ attorney Brad Thompson were notified of the decision before anyone else.

“From the time of Katherine’s death, the family has only wanted justice for her,” said her father, Scott Sinclair of Laurel. “We see this indictment as an important first step in that direction.”

Sinclair’s mother, Madeline Herrington, said she had hoped for second-degree murder, but she understands why the grand jury went with manslaughter. Second-degree murder can carry a maximum sentence of up to life in prison.

“If (Buckley) went for second-degree, they would have to have all of this evidence, his word against hers, and she’s not here to speak,” said Herrington, a Laurel native who now lives in Stonewall. “I think manslaughter is the best way to get (Burroughs).”

Herrington said she felt vindicated by the decision.

“My child did not kill herself,” she said. “I think everyone knows that now.”

Thompson declined comment.

Burroughs will be required to forfeit his passport after his bond is set by the judge, Buckley said.

Sinclair, Credit: WDAM

“He’s entitled to bail,” Buckley said, adding that he doesn’t believe Burroughs is a flight risk between now and his bond hearing. “He’s had his passport all of this time and he hasn’t left. If he did leave, the U.S. Marshals would have him within a week.”

Buckley began presenting evidence from the case to the grand jury early last month. For seven hours, the jurors heard evidence that had been gathered from crime labs, Laurel police and the DA’s office. But after deliberating for an hour, the jurors told Buckley that they wanted two more pieces of evidence — Sinclair’s medical history and text messages/cellphone/computer information from Burroughs’ and Sinclair’s devices.

Buckley said he was still waiting on the autopsy report, but he and an LPD investigator did get an oral report from the state pathologist last month.

“Just today, I finally got the autopsy report on a case that’s a year old,” Buckley said Thursday to show the pace of the crime lab, which stays backed up with statewide investigations.

Sinclair was found in the driver’s seat of her Honda in the garage of Burroughs’ home in the upscale, gated Windermere community, where his home cost more than $400,000, according to the real-estate website Zillow. She and Burroughs had just returned there from a night out. Sinclair, who was left-handed, had a gunshot to the right side of her head. Burroughs called 911 — after first calling his friend and Sinclair’s uncle, Municipal Judge Kyle Robertson — and told dispatchers that his girlfriend had shot herself.

When police and medical personnel arrived, Sinclair was still clinging to life in the car, wearing only a T-shirt. She was taken by ambulance to Forrest General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead the next day after her organs were harvested. A .380-caliber handgun that belonged to her was recovered at the scene, according to police incident reports.

After she was removed from the vehicle, the car was taken to a secure location and the scene was processed by investigators, but Burroughs’ family and friends were allowed to clean the garage.

Burroughs reportedly failed a lie-detector test while he was being detained after the shooting, but those results are not admissible in court. He was also wearing different clothes when police arrived than he was when he was seen on convenience-store surveillance video purchasing beer, less than an hour before police were dispatched to his residence, sources with knowledge of the case said. He also reportedly changed his story at least three times about what happened that night.

Since the shooting, it’s been learned that Burroughs has been in trouble with the law before, but without consequences. He was charged with drinking and driving with his then-8-year-old daughter in July 2016 after deputies were called to a disturbance between him and his girlfriend. All five charges were either dismissed or he was found not guilty by Justice Court Judge Howell Beech after the arresting deputy wasn’t in court when the case was called. In another case in October 2014, police were reportedly called to Burroughs’ residence for a domestic disturbance. But when police arrived, they reportedly arrested the woman for public drunkenness. No record of that arrest is on file at the LPD.

During the investigation into the case, the deep connections the Burroughs family has to local and statewide leaders have come to light, too. Only hours before Sinclair was shot, Gov. Phil Bryant was at Robert Burroughs’ beach house on exclusive Ono Island in Alabama. Robert Burroughs is the owner of Burroughs Diesel, where Greg Burroughs is sales manager. Robert Burroughs is also part owner of McBurlow Leasing, along with Chancery Judge Frank McKenzie. That company once owned an SUV that Police Chief Tyrone Stewart’s son now drives.

McKenzie recused himself during child-custody proceedings between Greg Burroughs and his ex-wife Brook Jones after the shooting. Judge Robertson was listed as Greg Burroughs’ contact when he was jailed in July 2016. His initial appearance for manslaughter would normally be in Laurel Municipal Court, but because of his close ties to Robertson, it will be in circuit court on Monday.