Born on December 3, 2003, Zaria Burgess was a joyful teenager who lived with her mother in Union County, North Carolina, but shared a close bond with her father, Joshua Lee Burgess.
On August 17, 2019, Zaria went to visit her father for the weekend. The next morning, Joshua walked into the Union County Sheriff’s office and confessed to killing her.
Joshua was arrested and faced charges of murder, rape, and other offenses.
What was the motive behind this gruesome murder?
Listen now for the sad murder of Zaria Burgess on Love and Murder.
Share your thoughts on this case in the comments below.
Don't forget to subscribe and share this episode.
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On August 17, 2019, Zaria went to visit her father for the weekend. The next morning, Joshua walked into the Union County Sheriff’s office and confessed to killing her.
Joshua was arrested and faced charges of murder, rape, and other offenses.
What was the motive behind this gruesome murder?
Listen now for the sad murder of Zaria Burgess on Love and Murder.
Share your thoughts on this case in the comments below.
Don't forget to subscribe and share this episode.
Rate, Share, Subscribe!
SOS link: https://www.speakpipe.com/LoveAndMurderPodcast
YOUTUBE https://bit.ly/LoveMurderYouTube
PATREON BONUS EPISODES: https://bit.ly/LandMBonus
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/loveandmurderpodcast
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/noconductradio
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/relationshipcrime
FACEBOOK GROUP: https://bit.ly/39qUG3t
WEBSITE: www.murderandlove.com
MERCH: https://bit.ly/LnMShop
Want to hear our reaction on a specific true crime documentary? Email me at noconductradio@gmail.com
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/love-and-murder-heartbreak-to-homicide--4348896/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Love and Murder. I'm your host of this episode and Ky's co-host, AI Jane.
(00:06):
This episode and all of our episodes are sponsored by the LaMs in Patreon, Patreon.com,
/loveandmurder. Let's get into this midweek mini. Born to young parents,
Akisha Pope and Joshua Lee Burgess on December 3rd, 2003, the then 15-year-old Zaria
Lee Burgess had just entered her teenage years. In 2019, the teenager was described by
(00:30):
all as a delightful and joyous young lady who never stopped smiling. Monroe High School was about
to welcome Zaria as a sophomore. With her parents no longer together, Zoria lived with her mom who
resided in Union County, North Carolina. It appeared that Zaria's father played an active role
in his daughter's life, based on his social media activity. It showed that they shared a deep bond
(00:53):
that brought them together. Joshua couldn't stop bragging about Zoria, affectionately calling her
his "minimummy". His love for her new no-bounds and he proudly boasted about it,
emphasizing how she was priceless and irreplaceable. On August 17th, 2019,
Zoria went to visit her father for the weekend as she normally did. He lived on the 5,100 block
(01:16):
of Hampton Meadows Road. At around 924am on August 18, Joshua walked into the Union County Sheriff's office
and told the officer on duty at the time that he wanted to turn himself in. When the officer asked
him for his name to try and pull up his warrants, Joshua told her not to bother that she wouldn't find
anything. Instead, he said something that turned the officer's blood cold. He said, "I've just killed
(01:42):
someone." Joshua went on to provide the officer with specific information about the crime,
such as the victim's name and the location of the body. Quote, "Burgis gave further details
including the address where the victim was located as well as the victim's identity.
To officers' shock, they found out that the victim was Joshua's own daughter. In response,
(02:04):
law enforcement quickly made their way to the scene and tragically found Zoria's deceased body.
Her body was taken to be autopsied to find cause of death and Joshua was immediately arrested
on charges of murder. After the autopsie, it was revealed that Zoria had been strangled and then
after death, her throat had been slit. It was also revealed that even more horrendous acts happened
(02:26):
to this portee. Her father also tortured her and sexually assaulted her for 22 hours before he murdered
her. Joshua faced allegations of capital murder as well as other felony offenses. He plead not guilty.
After a three-week trial and after three hours of deliberation, Joshua was found guilty of first
degree murder as well as one count of statutory rape, one count of first-degree sexual exploitation
(02:51):
of a minor and three counts of statutory sex offence. In North Carolina, if the jury doesn't unanimously
agree to the death penalty, then the defendant will instead be given a life sentence in prison,
as per the law. This jury, on the other hand, handed down the death sentence by lethal injection
to Joshua. He also got an additional minimum of 26 years in prison. Now you may be wondering why,
(03:16):
after all of these years and just out of the blue, why did this happen? Why did he do this to the one
he said he held most precious? It's not known for sure, but there's a lot of speculation out there.
Some people think that it's because Joshua is a white supremacist and he killed his daughter
for some type of ritual murder. This speculation came around because of his alleged Facebook activity.
(03:39):
Joshua followed a page that seemed to belong to a satanic organization,
and he liked pages that were known to be against black people. There's also speculation that he was
just simply a sick individual, and I don't mean mentally, I mean just plain evil. There were some
social media posts such as, quote, "I really like cutting people. Oops, I meant things. I like cutting
(04:02):
things." Joshua said that he did this to get back at his ex, Zoria's mom, because they were on bad terms.
However, Joshua gave a lot of different reasons during his confession. Detectives think that
the primary motive for the murder had an underlying tone of lust and control. This incident has
impacted all the officers and detectives involved, leaving them greatly affected. It's difficult for
(04:26):
anyone to comprehend the level of evil behind what this father did to his daughter. Quote,
"This was truly an especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel killing of an innocent child. This case
was emotionally taxing for everyone involved. We continue to grieve with Zoria's mother."
Joshua plans to appeal the death sentence. It's interesting to note that Samuel Flippin
(04:50):
was the last person to receive the death penalty in North Carolina and, in August of 2006,
he was executed through lethal injection for the murder of his two-year-old stepdaughter.
What do you think of this case? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to subscribe
so you don't miss any other true crime story. And share this episode with everyone you know
(05:12):
and everyone you don't.
Welcome to Love and Murder. I'm your host of this episode and Ky's co-host, AI Jane.
(00:06):
This episode and all of our episodes are sponsored by the LaMs in Patreon, Patreon.com,
/loveandmurder. Let's get into this midweek mini. Born to young parents,
Akisha Pope and Joshua Lee Burgess on December 3rd, 2003, the then 15-year-old Zaria
Lee Burgess had just entered her teenage years. In 2019, the teenager was described by
(00:30):
all as a delightful and joyous young lady who never stopped smiling. Monroe High School was about
to welcome Zaria as a sophomore. With her parents no longer together, Zoria lived with her mom who
resided in Union County, North Carolina. It appeared that Zaria's father played an active role
in his daughter's life, based on his social media activity. It showed that they shared a deep bond
(00:53):
that brought them together. Joshua couldn't stop bragging about Zoria, affectionately calling her
his "minimummy". His love for her new no-bounds and he proudly boasted about it,
emphasizing how she was priceless and irreplaceable. On August 17th, 2019,
Zoria went to visit her father for the weekend as she normally did. He lived on the 5,100 block
(01:16):
of Hampton Meadows Road. At around 924am on August 18, Joshua walked into the Union County Sheriff's office
and told the officer on duty at the time that he wanted to turn himself in. When the officer asked
him for his name to try and pull up his warrants, Joshua told her not to bother that she wouldn't find
anything. Instead, he said something that turned the officer's blood cold. He said, "I've just killed
(01:42):
someone." Joshua went on to provide the officer with specific information about the crime,
such as the victim's name and the location of the body. Quote, "Burgis gave further details
including the address where the victim was located as well as the victim's identity.
To officers' shock, they found out that the victim was Joshua's own daughter. In response,
(02:04):
law enforcement quickly made their way to the scene and tragically found Zoria's deceased body.
Her body was taken to be autopsied to find cause of death and Joshua was immediately arrested
on charges of murder. After the autopsie, it was revealed that Zoria had been strangled and then
after death, her throat had been slit. It was also revealed that even more horrendous acts happened
(02:26):
to this portee. Her father also tortured her and sexually assaulted her for 22 hours before he murdered
her. Joshua faced allegations of capital murder as well as other felony offenses. He plead not guilty.
After a three-week trial and after three hours of deliberation, Joshua was found guilty of first
degree murder as well as one count of statutory rape, one count of first-degree sexual exploitation
(02:51):
of a minor and three counts of statutory sex offence. In North Carolina, if the jury doesn't unanimously
agree to the death penalty, then the defendant will instead be given a life sentence in prison,
as per the law. This jury, on the other hand, handed down the death sentence by lethal injection
to Joshua. He also got an additional minimum of 26 years in prison. Now you may be wondering why,
(03:16):
after all of these years and just out of the blue, why did this happen? Why did he do this to the one
he said he held most precious? It's not known for sure, but there's a lot of speculation out there.
Some people think that it's because Joshua is a white supremacist and he killed his daughter
for some type of ritual murder. This speculation came around because of his alleged Facebook activity.
(03:39):
Joshua followed a page that seemed to belong to a satanic organization,
and he liked pages that were known to be against black people. There's also speculation that he was
just simply a sick individual, and I don't mean mentally, I mean just plain evil. There were some
social media posts such as, quote, "I really like cutting people. Oops, I meant things. I like cutting
(04:02):
things." Joshua said that he did this to get back at his ex, Zoria's mom, because they were on bad terms.
However, Joshua gave a lot of different reasons during his confession. Detectives think that
the primary motive for the murder had an underlying tone of lust and control. This incident has
impacted all the officers and detectives involved, leaving them greatly affected. It's difficult for
(04:26):
anyone to comprehend the level of evil behind what this father did to his daughter. Quote,
"This was truly an especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel killing of an innocent child. This case
was emotionally taxing for everyone involved. We continue to grieve with Zoria's mother."
Joshua plans to appeal the death sentence. It's interesting to note that Samuel Flippin
(04:50):
was the last person to receive the death penalty in North Carolina and, in August of 2006,
he was executed through lethal injection for the murder of his two-year-old stepdaughter.
What do you think of this case? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to subscribe
so you don't miss any other true crime story. And share this episode with everyone you know
(05:12):
and everyone you don't.
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