A Columbia woman was sentenced to decades in prison after being convicted of murder, the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said.
On Monday, a jury found Jamira Davis guilty of murdering Brandon Burden at his Richland County home in 2021, the solicitor’s office said in a news release.
Davis was sentenced to 35 years in prison after Burden’s body was found inside a burning building, according to the release.
The Fire
On Jan. 22, 2021, the Columbia Fire Department responded to an early morning fire at a home in the 100 block of American Avenue in Hopkins. That’s about 3 miles from Garners Ferry Road and Lower Richland High School.
Burden’s neighbors had called 911 when they saw the 42-year-old’s home was fully engulfed in flames, the solicitor’s office said.
Crews doused the flames from outside until it was safe for firefighters to enter the house, which is when they discovered Burden’s body, the fire department said.
The fire department called the blaze suspicious, and the Richland County Fire Marshal said “preliminary findings indicate the fire was intentionally set inside a room using an undisclosed ignition source and combustible materials.”
While the initial assumption was that Burden had died in the fire started by a kerosene heater, it was later discovered in an autopsy that Burden had died of gunshot wounds, the solicitor’s office said. Burden had been shot several times, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
The Investigation
A neighbor’s surveillance camera recorded footage of a car arriving at Burden’s home at about 2:40 a.m. Approximately an hour later, a muzzle flash could be seen followed by that same car leaving, according to the release.
A search of Burden’s phone records revealed calls to and from an unknown number during the early morning hours on the day of the fire, the solicitor’s office said.
When the unknown phone number was discovered to belong to Davis, she was brought in for questioning on Feb. 1, 2021, according to the release. It was discovered that Burden had been in a long term relationship with Davis’ mother, the solicitor’s office said.
After changing her story several times regarding her whereabouts on the night in question, Davis finally admitted to shooting Burden — but claimed it was self-defense, the solicitor’s office said. Her versions of how the shooting occurred were inconsistent and at odds with evidence presented by law enforcement and the solicitor’s office, according to the release.
Davis, 22, was arrested on the murder charge on Feb. 1, according to the sheriff’s department.
Information about a motive for the shooting was not available. There was no word if Davis was suspected of starting the fire, but she was not charged with any crime related to the fire.
Prior to her conviction, Davis had been released on a $125,000 surety bond that was posted on April 7, 2022, Richland County court records show. She was credited with 883 days served toward her prison sentence, according to court records.
Dale Scott and Cecil Jackson led the prosecution for the solicitor’s office, while court records show Davis was represented by Columbia defense attorney Sarah Jurick in addition to Public Defender Hope Demer.