Life Insurance At Center Of Jacksonville Murder For Hire

The May 9 homicide was staged "to look like a burglary" at Velvet Floyd Burns' home on Jacksonville's Westside, according to police.

The payment offered to those who stabbed the 44-year-old woman to death in her home on Doris Lane included thousands in cash and a portion of her life insurance, Lt. Craig Waldrup said Monday in announced the arrests of her husband and his mistress.

Jerry "Tommy" Allen Burns, 50, told officers he had left the home about 3:30 a.m. for a job in Tallahassee, then a family friend found his wife's body that afternoon, according to his arrest report. But the investigation revealed he was having an affair with 30-year-old Amanda Lea Love, Waldrup said. Then investigators learned Love had some of Velvet Burns' possessions.

Now Burns and Love are behind bars on second-degree murder charges as police hunt down others they say were brought to the home to commit the actual homicide, the lieutenant said.

"Detectives revealed the suspect Jerry Burns conspired with suspect Love to murder the victim," Waldrup said. "Jerry Burns offered $5,000 to Love to transport other suspects to the scene and commit the murder. According to Love, Burns promised an additional sum of money after the murder was completed. The amount would be contributed from the victim's life insurance policy."

Just hours before the arrests of her father and his lover were announced, Kayleen Burns posted a message on Facebook about her late mother, calling her beautiful and promising that "justice is coming."

Following her death, a neighbor said she and another person who lived on the dead-end road off Commonwealth Avenue saw a dark vehicle with its headlights off about 4 a.m., just a half-hour after the victim's husband left for his Tallahassee job. The neighbor said she was told that a family friend found her dead, the victim of an apparent break-in.

Detectives spoke with a woman who called herself a "close friend," saying the husband had texted her earlier to ask if she had spoken with his wife, according to the arrest reports. Jerry Burns also said he had made several attempts to call his wife from Tallahassee, but she had not answered, and he and the friend were concerned.

The friend said she arrived at the home at 12:30 p.m. to find its back gate and door open, and called Jerry Burns to tell him "something was wrong," the reports said. Burns advidsed he was coming back home, then the friend found Velvet Burns dead on the master bedroom floor, covered in blood.

Burns was interviewed by detectives a second time on May 10 and divulged his affair with Love, the reports said. Love was interviewed Friday. Whatever they told investigators has been redacted on the reports, and Waldrup would only say the investigation is continuing and no further details would be released.

The pair were arrested Friday, and both remain jailed on no bail, jail records show.

Dan Scanlan: (904) 359-4549

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