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Uploaded: Wednesday, May 9, 2012, 6:02 PM
Updated: Sunday, May 13, 2012, 7:02 AM
Investigation continues in Pleasanton shooting deaths
Autopsies inconclusive; lab results pending in deaths of mother, daughter
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by Glenn Wohltmann
Pleasanton Weekly Staff
Photo
 | The two victims in last Monday night's fatal shooting in Pleasanton were shot once in the head, according to the Alameda County Coroner's Office.
Preliminary results indicate that 13-year-old Ainsley Freeman did not shoot herself. The coroner's report said it was "unclear" whether 37-year-old Amy Freeman Burton's wound was self inflicted, adding, "that is not being ruled out."
The shootings occurred in the victims' home in the 3200 block of Stacey Court.
were shot once in the head, according to the
The bullets recovered from both victims are consistent with those found in the handgun that was located near the two, one of two unregistered pistols found in a search of the home Monday night.
"Little was gleaned from the autopsy," said Pleasanton police Lt. Jeff Bretzing.
Lab results are needed to confirm whether the handgun found nearest the victims was actually involved. Police said those results and other key evidence may not be available until some time next week.
"Until that time, we are unable to determine the exact nature of the shootings and investigators will continue to follow up on all leads," a news release said. "Christopher Burton, the husband of Amy Freeman Burton and stepfather of Ainsley Freeman, remains cooperative in this investigation."
Christopher Burton told investigators they obtained the guns from his brother in Arizona.
A news release Tuesday said Burton told police his wife had recently become paranoid as a result of an incident regarding Ainsley. He said he and his wife reported to the Pleasanton Police and the FBI in February of this year that Ainsley was in communication via text messages with a suspicious male located in the state of Kentucky.
However, an investigation launched by the Pleasanton Police Department and the FBI revealed the individual was a 16-year-old male and that the activity did not constitute a criminal violation.
"We have no reason to believe at this time there is any connection between this earlier report and the shooting deaths," Bretzing said.
Police received a call to the home at around 6 p.m., Bretzing said in his initial briefing on the double slaying Monday night.
"Officers, upon arriving, encountered 37-year-old Amy Freeman Burton who had a fatal gunshot wound," Bretzing said. "They also encountered her 13-year-old daughter, Ainsly Freeman who had also been shot. Ainsly was taken to Eden Trauma Center in Castro Valley, where she succumbed to her injuries."
A warrant was written so police could search the house and as of midnight Monday, the search had just begun.
The 13-year-old was an eighth grade student at Hart Middle School.
"Our hearts go out to the friends and family," Hart Middle School Principal Terry Conde wrote in a statement. "Using the example set by our students, it is important that we continue to come together as a Hart community."
Conde estimated that 50 students at Hart asked for counseling on Tuesday. Freeman was said to have been an excellent student at both that school and schools she attended in Missouri, where the family lived before relocating here.
Amy Freeman Burton's mother, Linda Walp of Chesterfield, Mo., said her daughter and granddaughter had moved to Pleasanton late last year after Christopher Burton found a job.
Cyndy Bormann, a counseling secretary at Hart, said that all student counselors in the Pleasanton Unified School District will likely be there through the week as needed.
"We are focusing on taking care of our students, she said. "We will be providing grief counseling to all students. We have additional counselors on site."
Pleasanton Middle School Principal John Whitney said that his school and Harvest Park Middle School sent counselors to help the three at Hart.
"Our counselors have all been dispatched to assist with the students and staff to help them get through this," Whitney said.Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Andrea, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 7:32 am Strange... isn't their a gunpowder residue test that can tell if you fired a handgun recently? I have to assume such a test must not be reliable or maybe doesn't work for all types of handguns?
Very sad situation, I pray comfort for Amy and Ainsley's family and friends.
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Posted by wondering, a resident of the Foothill Farms neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 8:28 am Maybe it's a case of maternal mental illness? BTW: why did she leave her job in March? There is more to this story....
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Posted by Sam, a resident of the Oak Hill neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 9:26 am "Maybe it's a case of maternal mental illness? BTW: why did she leave her job in March? There is more to this story...."
Maybe it was done by the young "suspicious male" from Kentucky. Maybe the tale about the young "suspicious male" was a red herring thrown out by the husband to focus attention away from himself. Maybe it was a murder suicide by the mother. Maybe it was a murder suicide by the daughter, etc., etc.. We can speculate endlessly on this. Better to wait for the police to complete their investigation.
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Posted by nancy s, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 10:09 am I agree with Sam. Let the police finish their investigation before everyone jumps to conclusions. The results of ballistic tests and gun powder residue tests don't take quite as long as they are making out, but the police probably want to have all the information (evidence)in their hands so they can accurately determine what happened. If the police thought this was done by an outsider, I am sure they would have already expressed it, public safety and all.
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Posted by Jasper, a resident of the Birdland neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 10:32 am If it's anything other then a murder/suicide we should all be concerned. I would venture the police have everything they need except may be the time of death.
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Posted by steven, a resident of the Stoneridge neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 11:19 am Excuse me. We are talking about Pleasanton's overpaid and bloated union police force right? And everyone is putting they're faith in them? I suddenly have to barf up my breakfast.
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Posted by Mustang Sally, a resident of Dublin, on May 10, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Mustang Sally is a member (registered user) of PleasantonWeekly.com Stephen, apparently you have never needed help from the Pleasanton Police Department. I am HIGHLY aggravated that you would make such an assertion. Those men and women make sacrifices every day to make our City one of the best around. My faith is in them every single day. As for the ones working on this case, I have every confidence they will figure it all out in due time.
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Posted by Detectives needed, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 1:55 pm However, in Pleasanton, the officers do not have much current experience in angle of bullets, etc. Shooter could be either Mom or daughter....or Dad, or freeway shooter. Do we know about wallets, and if full or empty.
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Posted by Peace and Joyful, a resident of the Pleasanton Meadows neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 2:39 pm Whatever happened, this is really a very sad story. A mother and a daughter just lost their lives-there could be many great and happy days ahead for them instead.
I don't want to speculate but I really doubt this is a third party murder case because if there are only two shots made, both deadly on the head, the murderer should be really good at shooting, like a sniper...
Never thought this kind of case could happen to this neighborhood. Still can't believe it. And feel very sad about it.
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Posted by unknown, a resident of another community, on May 10, 2012 at 4:04 pm Detectives needed: is so right except for the freeway shooting they were both shot in the back of the head and that would be hard to do with the sound wall.
PPD always needs to bring out the crime manual for these types of crimes. They're use to traffic stops, drug raids, etc but not shootings.
I have been reading the updates on Pleasanton Weekly and KTVU and I think this is more than a murder-suicide because usually both bodies being shot in the back of the head doesn't happen as a murder-suicide!!!! There are too many empty holes in this case.
I hope PPD are able to solve this crime so there is closure for the family and friends.
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Posted by Nancy s., a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 4:33 pm @ unknown: please reference what article you read that said they were both shot in the back of the head. I have only read that they were both shot in the head.
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Posted by Kellie, a resident of the Laguna Oaks neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 6:35 pm PLEASE STOP EVERYBODY! I'm a 13 year old student at Hart who was friends with Ainsley. Please stop talking about the case and just take the time to realize what has happened. WE JUST LOST A CLASSMATE. do you know how hard that is? to wake up, and have your parents tell you your best friend is dead? Hart students have suffered more than their fair share from the deaths of Ainsley and Joey. We haven't even gotten over Joey and now we have this being thrown right back in our faces! You "adults" aren't making this any easier. AT ALL. do you know what it's like to have everybody speculating about what they think happened instead of focusing on what's really important? Pleasanton is ALWAYS like this, people talk about irrelevant things that will not make the situation any better. SO, PLEASE JUST STOP, TAKE A MINUTE AND PAY YOUR RESPECTS TO THEM, NOT JUST SIT AROUND AND HAVE ARGUMENTS ABOUT THE POLICE.
#JUSTICEFORAINSLEY #RIPAINSLEY #WELOVEYOUAINSLEY #IMISSYOU
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Posted by Pleasanton resident, a member of the Harvest Park Middle School community, on May 10, 2012 at 6:52 pm This is so sad. My heart goes out to the victims loved ones. We are not detectives but if you stop & think for a minute it was one gunshot to the head and the gun was found next to the bodies. Doubt that it was done by an outsider and the PPD just like any other police dept investigating a shooting case would've said so by now.
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Posted by steven, a resident of the Stoneridge neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 6:57 pm Unless someone fired from the freeway and then tossed the gun into the room.
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Posted by Ann, a resident of the Mohr Park neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 7:00 pm Such a tragedy!!! My prayers go out the family!!!
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Posted by anon, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 7:05 pm @Kellie - please don't read the articles or comments. It is like tv, if you don't like the show, turn the channel. As adults, we question why this happens, you will too when you are an adult. I am sad about this tragedy too. My prayers go out to the family. But as an educated person, I want to know WHY this happened.
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Posted by frank, a resident of the Del Prado neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 7:08 pm [removed] You cannot even see the houses from the freeway, there is a sound wall. I am surprised you didn't say someone came in on BART and did it.
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Posted by Barb, a member of the Mohr Elementary School community, on May 10, 2012 at 7:16 pm I hope the family and friends find comfort during this difficult time.
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Posted by Loretta, a resident of the Happy Valley neighborhood, on May 10, 2012 at 9:30 pm love this batch of latest comments and cannot wait to see more or when the truth does come out.
kellie-you say you are 13 and live in laguna oaks yet you got to hart and some of your comment sounds more like an adult. okay so you are smart.
to Detective Needed-you are just a plain . . . as is Stephen. pleasanotn Police are wonderful and do their job-next time you two need an officer-call ghostbuster then.
Mustang Sally -thank you for sticking up for our men in blue.
Now here is what I am thinking but am not pointing fingers at anyone since I am not a detective anymore but was in another life. (Comment removed by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff for containing unverified or personal information.) He working for Ross Stores got transferred to the area where Ross is located? that just sounds too fishy to me. maybe Ross would transfer you out of state but why back to the area where their home office is? hummmm. Just saying. go ahead and tell me I am an . . . not the first time.
And what about the guns? come on he should have known the guns should be registered. Remember people. Scott Peterson cooperated with officials too and look what he was arrested for.
Too many open ends in this one. Rest in Peace Amy and Ainsley
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Posted by Kaitlin, a resident of the Castlewood neighborhood, on May 11, 2012 at 1:20 am Hey Steven...a mother and daughter are dead from whatever circumstances that went down that day and you want to complain that PPD has a, "bloated and overpaid" police force? How classy of you. Additionally, this is not an episode of CSI and the Alameda County Crime Lab does not churn out ballistic results in hours or even days. It can take WEEKS or months...you know why Steven? Because of a little thing called budget cuts...those most likely "bloated and overpaid" crime lab analysts are under funded because of people like you that want to bash on law enforcement.
Steven...maybe you should take a second look at your third grade spelling level. It's "their" not "they're" but just saying...
RIP to the mother and daughter, irregardless of the way they lost their lives that day. Also thank you to the officers and detectives that had THEIR lives impacted that day when they had to be involved in such a horrific scene. I am sure it is something they will not forget either.
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Posted by CJ, a resident of another community, on May 11, 2012 at 3:03 am Please hold the wild speculation and do not accuse a grieving husband and father. That is cruel beyond words.
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Posted by Mary, a resident of the Golden Eagle neighborhood, on May 11, 2012 at 6:04 am Honestly, based on everything they've said and have not said, I'd be shocked if this doesn't turn out to be a murder/suicide. They've been clear that there's no need to worry about a murderer running around the community do obviously it was someone on the inside, either a murder/suicide or the husband did it which so far this doesn't appear to be the way it's headed. They released a statement saying it was unlikely Ainsley shot herself, yet they didn't say the same about Amy. If they know this about one, they probably know it about the other.
At the end of the day, two beautiful lives were taken way too soon. If it was a murder/suicide, I'm guessing there was an underlying mental health issue, perhaps deep depression, that Amy was dealing with. No sane or mentally healthy person would go this IF THIS IS THE CASE. I don't speak of mental illness lightly as it is a real disease like any other. Amy might also have had a hard time adjusting to the move. Many years ago I moved out of state to the Midwest and moved back six months later. We just couldn't adjust and thankfully had the resources that we could turn around and bone back home. Maybe this was the case for her too but for whatever reason she felt she couldn't go back. Maybe it was financial or even guilt about moving her daughter again.
I pray for a swift resolution and am not here to judge, only to offer up potential things that might have contributed in some small way. No matter what anyone says, two lives were taken and it's profoundly tragic for their families, loved ones and thei communities.
PPD has failed my family numerous times even refusing to enforce a child custody order. They don't make laws or decide if they agree with court orders, they are to carry out the orders of the courts and ENFORCE the law. Until you've had a major need for their assistance, please reserve your kudos because things aren't always what they seem and sometimes you have to learn this the hard way even when you've done all the right things.
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Posted by Mary, a resident of the Grey Eagle Estates neighborhood, on May 11, 2012 at 6:09 am Just wanted to apologize for all my iPhone autocorrect mistakes in my last posting.
RIP AINSLEY AND AMY.
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Posted by hart mom, a member of the Hart Middle School community, on May 11, 2012 at 8:35 am @Loretta
You said "kellie-you say you are 13 and live in laguna oaks yet you got to hart and some of your comment sounds more like an adult"
You don't know what you're talking about. Kids from Laguna Oaks go to Hart Middle school.
Please refrain on you ridiculous, insensitive and rude accusations.
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Posted by Been There, a member of the Amador Valley High School community, on May 11, 2012 at 9:05 am (((Kellie)))
I was in middle school when two of my classmates died from suicide and one disappeared - the investigation is reopened after 30 years. I am so sorry for you and your classmates and what you are dealing with. We didn't have internet, but all the people still speculated and all towns are like this...unfortunately, it is human nature. My child was a close friend of the AVHS student who died a few years back. There were nasty things on here at that time too. I have to agree with another poster - for you the best thing is to stay off the PW forums. Stay near your friends and family and talk to the school counselors - that will help you with healing. My thoughts and prayers are with all the families and friends.
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Posted by TAK, a resident of the Oak Hill neighborhood, on May 11, 2012 at 1:28 pm I keep seeing people saying that the guns were not registered. Guns are not registered in America, not even in the Peoples Republic of California. This is the United States not Russia, at least not yet. Ownership is not the problem, use is.
Most murders in this country are committed by undocumented pharmaceutical salesmen, relatives or someone known by the victim(s). Because there is no report of signs of struggle it is probably one of the latter two.
Because people speculate about a crime like this it does not mean they have no compassion for the family and friends of the victims. This type of crime is rare in Pleasanton so the public is curious not callous.
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Posted by to TAK, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on May 13, 2012 at 12:12 am I read your assertion above, and you sound as if you do know what you are talking about, but can you comment on this clause?
25. I am moving into California and I own several handguns. What are the new-resident registration requirements? You are considered to be a personal handgun importer as defined by California law. You may bring all of your otherwise California-legal firearms with you, but you must report all of your handguns to the DOJ within 60 days as required utilizing the New Resident Handgun Ownership Report, pdf. You are not required to report rifles or shotguns. You may not bring ammunition feeding devices with a capacity greater than ten rounds, machineguns, or assault weapons into California.
(PC sections 12001(n), 12072(f)(2))
B
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Posted by wondering, a resident of the Foothill Farms neighborhood, on May 14, 2012 at 8:30 am what is the latest real news on this story? Why no update since last week?
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