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Two handguns have been recovered in a search of the home where a mother and daughter were shot to death Monday night.
Killed were 37-year-old Amy Freeman Burton and her 13-year-old daughter Ainsley Freeman, who were found with fatal wounds at their home on the 3200 block of Stacey Court. The two were killed with a handgun, although police have not released the type of pistol involved.
Neither of the two guns found at the home is registered, according to a Pleasanton Police news release, but one was located in the general area of the two victims.
Autopsies have been scheduled for this morning and police expect they will reveal “new and important facts.” Those autopsies and lab tests of the weapons and ammunition will determine if one or both handguns were involved in the incident.
Christopher Burton, Amy Freeman Burton’s husband, told investigators they obtained the guns from his brother in Arizona.
The news release 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,” Pleasanton Lt. Jeff Bretzling said in the news release.
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.”
Bretzing said police are still investigating the circumstances that led to the deaths. The woman’s husband called 911 and while Bretzing did not name him, he was described as a person of interest.
A warrant was written so police could search the house and as of midnight, the search had just begun. An Alameda County Sheriff was on scene and technicians were going through the home.
The 13-year-old was a student at Hart Middle School.
“Our hearts go out to the friends and family. Please take this time to recognize those around you and take care of each other,” Hart Middle School Principal Terry Code wrote in a statement. “Using the example set by our students, it is important that we continue to come together as a Hart community.”
Meanwhile, classmates and family members are grieving Freeman and Burton’s deaths.
Amy Freeman Burton’s mother, Linda Walp of Chesterfield, Mo., said her daughter and granddaughter had moved to Pleasanton around late December or early January. Walp said the family moved for employment reasons.
Cyndy Bormann, a counseling secretary at Hart, said that all student counselors in the Pleasanton Unified School District were at the school Tuesday and 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 three counselors have been dispatched to Hart Middle School to assist with grief counseling on site.
Whitney said the third school in the district, Harvest Park Middle School, has also dispatched several counselors and that Hart has three counselors on staff.
“Our counselors have all been dispatched to assist with the students and staff to help them get through this,” Whitney said.
Further information about the circumstances of the deaths was not immediately available.
Valley Memorial Hospital closed the Livermore Emergency Room that was one reason the community supported the hospital in the first place.
The only Emergency Room is now in Pleasanton.
Why do people have to go all the way to Castro Valley?
So sad.
Eden is a trauma hospital valley isn’t.
Considering the affluence of the area, it is a shame there isn’t a properly suited hospital for treating trauma. But with the sharp decline in standards of living and increase of crime in Pleasanton, maybe the honorable health care industry will see Pleasanton as a profitable area where they can charge exorbant fees to patients for treating such injuries.
WHO CARES What Trauma center is WHERE!! 2 people are DEAD, a Mother and her 13 year old Daughter!! that is ALL that should matter!!!… Money means NOTHING in these 2 sensless deaths!!
It is a real trajedy, and my heart goes out to the family.
The sharp decline in living in Pleasanton is mostly because of the wonton behavior of the unions under the Obummer administration. If a trauma hospital were to go up, the unions would hound everyone for a peace of the pie. Then its just more taxpayer expense.
Steven, I knew one of you would show up sooner or later. yes Blame 2 people being shot and killed by Obama!!! Just shows your intelligent level!! Your a Disgrace!!!!!!!!
I have been here a couple of years.
Can someone list what they mean by “the sharp decline in standards of living and increase of crime in Pleasanton”? Facts or statistics please so it is objective and not based on a couple of people’s perspective. Something like a then and now would be great.
I am deeply saddened by this. It took place in my neighborhood a few blocks from my home where I raise small children in a city I have loved and lived in for over 30 years.
My heart breaks for the kids at Hart and in the Meadows area who will be affected by this violence.
Those of you who take this opportunity to discuss politics should be ashamed. We should be coming together as a community to mourn not point fingers and argue…
If we were more united, we would be looking out for each other and preventing violence. Whether it originated from outside or inside the home, we should be taking care of our citizens and our children.
“Pleasanton crime statistics report an overall downward trend in crime based on data from 11 years with violent crime increasing and property crime decreasing. Based on this trend, the crime rate in Pleasanton for 2012 is expected to be lower than in 2009.”
from:
http://www.cityrating.com/crime-statistics/california/pleasanton.html
Well said J!
The root cause here is the handgun. Handguns should be outlawed.
I also want to express my sadness. I pray for their souls and for this community
For those wanting to talk about handgun control, or crime rates, etc: please start your own thread on those subjects. Please.
May they rest in peace
A very tragic event. May they RIP.
What a terrible tragedy! Praying for the family, friends, and children who will affected by this. Death and violence are very traumatizing to kids; hopefully the school and community can support them in this time of need. I also hope the police can find the person responsible. A PERSON is responsible for this, not the gun!
May the lord have mercey.
Heartbreaking news. My heart goes out the family and friends who are suffering through this tragic loss. 🙁
“The root cause here is the handgun. Handguns should be outlawed.”
What an ignorant statement… The root here is a MURDERER, who killed 2 women. Could have just as easily used a rifle, baseball bat, or a vehicle as a weapon. Handguns do not kill people, people kill people…and need to realize that material objects do not bear the responsibility, PEOPLE DO.
Outlawing handguns will do nothing but make YOU vulnerable to murderers (who by definition, do not abide by the law…and would not give a thought to whether the weapon they are using is legal/outlawed when they’re committing murder).
Condolences to the families and friends that have lost, very sad..
Alvin,
The handgun didn’t kill these people the criminal using the gun did. Get off your anti gun soapbox and face reality. If guns were outlawed the only people having them would be the criminals. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the victims of this senseless violence. Pleasanton is still a fantastic place to live and work. My thoughts and prayers also go out to the police and firefighters that see these tragedies day in and day out. May they find peace in knowing we support them. Rest in peace Amy and Ainsly
Yes, it is certainly a tragedy that these people were killed. If the mother and daughter were trained to defend themselves (e.g. gun and martial arts, etc.), they might have had a better chance.
For those who are not familiar with crime statistics, the most dangerous areas in the US are those that outlaw guns. e.g. Oakland, Washington D.C., etc.
Places where the right to bear arms is the law, are much much safer.
Criminals actually are in favor of gun control…to get guns out of the homes of their prospective victims.
Wake up!
Even if Valley was a trauma center-the chances were still so slim that she would have made it. though not mentioned in the article, I did hear the first reports of this on the police scanner that one was deceased already and the other was “barely” breathing.
Mourn the loss.
Mourn the violence.
Mourn the hopelessness.
Mourn the failure of relationships.
Mourn the lack of low-cost home-use body armor.
Mourn the human animal’s inability to control itself.
Mike
The loss is terrible I think.
I train my 4 and 6 year children to fight back. They know karate. And they also wear high-cost home-use body armour. And house helmets.
And I give them guns to use. Nothing to worry about, I think, because guns don’t kill people. People do the killing don’t you agree?
what is the latest on the husband?
I heard they are thinking murder suicide and not the husband/stepfather. Police are still investigating, not saying anything for sure yet.
I’m so sorry for this family’s loss. I hope they figure out what happened quickly so the speculation can stop and the family can focus on mourning and honoring their loved ones.
I’m not personally going to speculate, but will say that one of the first press releases said they didn’t think there was a murderer on the streets and there was no sign of forced entry. I have my opinion about what several scenarios could exist given these statements as I’m sure others do. But I’m not pointing a finger at anyone until the police determine what happened.
I want their family to know that even though they didn’t live in Pleasanton long that we consider them our own just as any other resident would be. We pray for you and mourn for you and will not let Ainsley and Amy be forgotten. Every community had a few nut jobs, ours being one of those communities, so please ignore the garbage, hate and nonsense some have written and know they don’t speak for us, the members of your girls’ community of Pleasanton.
May God bless you during this difficult Tim and may Ainsley and her mom RIP.
The strength in a community, shows value, when we all come together and support each other. Please, lets support each other and help the police catch the criminal by looking for truth and not speculation ~ Support each other. Two souls in heaven are at peace, and the one or those involved in this horrible crime will pay, one way or another.
Jalia, my son is a student at Hart Middle School and he feels the same as you. You’re absolutely right, adults should be setting a standard and act as role models to help you guys through this tragic time. It’s hard enough for adults to sort through and make sense of something like this. It must be very hard as young teenager to come to terms with the loss of a classmate. You and your classmates need to keep in mind that the years of middle school and high school can be some of the toughest ones, but they take up only a fraction of your life in the big picture. You all have bright futures ahead of you. The key is to get through these tough teenage year. Hang in there. Healing comes with time. My thoughts are with the family and classmates of this young girl and her mother.
You are right Jalia. This is a time to mourn and to come together. So sorry for the loss of your classmate Jalia.
Part of the problem is indeed handguns. I understand we have the “right to bear arms”. However, we do need to have restrictions or controls on handguns. If we feel we need to protect our homesteads and go hunting – let us do it out in the open but with rifles. Let’s restrict handguns but lets just have the average citizen be able to get rifles (NOT assault rifles)- things we can usually visually see being carried into our schools and parks and restaurants and homes.
We can still protect ourselves and our homes with rifles…
Handguns are too concealed.
The 8th graders at Hart have experienced so much loss this past year. Two classmates, taken away from them. That is hard for adults to understand all the emotions involved. We should be supporting our youth! Not going on a political rampage about gun controls and how horroble California is. Right now, those kids are living it. Right now, how many of you adults had your friends ripped out from you? Leave politics off this page. Our hearts go our to all the Hart kids and to Ainsley Freeman her mom and family keep them in your prayers that they can get thru this. To stay strong and believe
that things will get better.
This is from the St. Louis Post newspaper –
“Amy Freeman Burton’s mother, Linda Walp of Chesterfield, said Amy had tried to be vigilant about finding out who her daughter was communicating with on Facebook. Amy and her husband used their computer knowledge to uncover a man involved in a child porn ring who was trying to befriend Ainsley, Walp says. Amy had been getting death threats after she told local police and the FBI about it, and she recently increased security at her home, Walp said.”
From http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/autopsies-planned-in-mother-daughter-deaths-in-california/article_0be916ec-9913-11e1-9bec-0019bb30f31a.html#ixzz1uOTA85Bw
That street is a few feet from the freeway ! !
Do we know anymore about whether is was a murder or a suicide/murder?
Thanks SL for the weblink to the news story posted in St. Louis. They seem much more thorough in their reporting than here.
It is extremely sad that this happened. I don’t know if access to facebook or texting had anything to do with this tragedy, but I am surprised at some of the things that kids put on there. Parents do need to be vigilant about their children’s use and what seems harmless to them, is giving out too much information. It’s like opening a window and letting the whole world see what you do behind closed doors. It’s very scary.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Amy and Ainsley
There is nothing wrong with speculating, it is perfectly normal human behavarior to try and make sense of something/figure out what happened; it is what we do! MOreover, discussing feelings about guns is perfectly relevent to this news article since the deaths were caused by guns. Everyone has the right to express their opinion, though I would hope one could do it respectfully. If reading these blog threads are upsetting to people, maybe they should stop reading them…
would the kid have been saved had she been taken to nearby Valley Care instead of Eden Medical?
Time is critical in these cases.
Did you guys not see what Jalia just said? We are mourning the loss of yet ANOTHER classmate and you “adults” are sitting around talking about politics and guns. THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT AT THE MOMENT! we teens are reading this thread and thinking, ‘damn, wtf is wrong with these people?’ WE JUST LOST TWO PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND YOUR TALKING ABOUT POLITICS? haven’t we suffered enough? you “adults” aren’t making this any easier for us. I had just talked to Ainsley that day and hadn’t even had a chance to say goodbye. I just lost one of my friends and your talking about politics?? Last year we lost Joey, do you know how hard that is?? to wake up and have someone tell you your best friend is dead? Please you guys JUST STOP. this is REALLY hard and your not making it any easier.
Kellie, I know you’re hurting. My Hart student is also struggling with the loss of his classmate. Turn to those who love you for support; your parents, your teachers, and classmates. Thirteen is too young to have to make sense of a tragedy like this and these comments will not make it better. Don’t burden yourself with reading other opinions. These comments are how some adults try to make sense of tragedy within their community. Often times when we lose someone, especially someone so young, we try to blame it on someone or something so that it makes sense to us. In this case, politics is an easy target. I know it doesn’t make sense when you’re a kid and you just want the adults to morn like you morn. Right or wrong, we all deal with death differently. Now get off this comment board, go hug your family, and comfort your friends. ~From a Hart Mom~
Way to go Jeff, politicizing a tragedy. But just so you can be educated, it was the decision of Alameda County to put the trauma center at Eden many years ago. There are specialized doctors and other equipment that need to be available 24 hours, which is expensive, but then I’m sure you’d complain about that.
Worry about the family, not your soapbox.