Students at Olivet College identify new leads in a 1988 cold case prompting the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office to reopen the homicide case.

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Detectives with the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office are reopening the 1988 homicide case of James William Burton after students at Olivet College's Criminal Justice program reviewed the cold case as part of their class curriculum under Professor Phil Reed.

The body of James Burton was located on 29 Mile Road near V Drive South near Homer Township on September 25, 1988. Detectives at the time were unable to identify who the remains belonged to.

Google Satellite ~ Courtesy of the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office
Google Satellite ~ Courtesy of the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office
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It was not until the early 2000s that the body was identified as that of James Burton and detectives reopened the case. The case, however, soon went cold.

The case has once again been reopened by the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office after students of Olivet College's Criminal Justice program reviewed this cold case and identified potential leads in the case.

Detectives in the case are asking the public for any information related to James William Burton. Investigators say James would have been in the Calhoun County area on or before September of 1988.

James was born on September 16, 1935, in Bland County, Virginia. He was the youngest of four children. In 1952, James graduated high school from Narrows High School in Giles County, Virginia. In the early 1970s, he was in the Atlanta, Georgia area, and in 1975 he was in Anchorage, Alaska. While in Anchorage, he ran a drywall business called Silver Fox Drywalling. In 1981, detectives know that he was in Chicago, Illinois, and in 1988 his body was found deceased in Calhoun County.

Detectives are seeking any information related to this case and are working in cooperation with the Michigan State Police on this case. If you recall this incident or have information, please contact Detectives Jon Pignataro and Dave Homminga at 269-781-0880.

 

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