A man sentenced to life in prison without parole for setting a 2015 fire in Johnson City that killed two small children has lost an appeal of his murder conviction.
A state appeals court upheld the first-degree murder conviction of Dwight Burton, although it did dismiss the conviction on the lesser charge of second-degree murder.
Burton, 45, was accused of intentionally setting a blaze that ripped through 145 Floral Ave. in Johnson City in October 2015, killing Joshua Maxwell, 4, and Michael Maxwell, 3.
In June 2017, following a non-jury trial, Broome County Judge Joseph Cawley found Burton guilty of all 10 counts against him, including one count of first-degree arson, three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, one count of second-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault and one count of aggravated criminal contempt.
In September of that year, Cawley sentenced Burton to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Burton challenged his conviction on multiple grounds, arguing it wasn’t justified by the evidence presented, that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress certain statements made during an interview with law enforcement, and that he had ineffective defense counsel.
In its ruling, issued this week, the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, Third Judicial Department, disagreed, declaring Burton’s contention the evidence at most establishes his conduct was reckless was without merit.
“To the contrary, defendant’s intent to kill the ex-girlfriend, which was transferrable to the child victims, was readily established by defendant’s use of an accelerant to light a fire during the early morning hours with knowledge that the residents of the third-floor apartment were home,” the decision stated.
Read the full appellate court decision here.
Trial testimony indicated Burton was the ex-boyfriend of the children’s mother, Erica Kurtz, who lived in the Floral Avenue residence with Joshua and Michael,…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply