New details have emerged in the case against a man accused of shooting and killing the mother of his child Monday at a North Pole home.
Alaska State Troopers were initially called to the scene after Fairbanks police were notified by a neighbor that a woman, 21-year-old Mandy Clemmons, was dead in a driveway on Larissa Drive. Once on scene, troopers were alerted to the presence of 33-year-old Russell Burris nearby who “was turning blue and not looking good,” according to court documents.
Burris’ mother, Linda Dickerson, was also on scene, according to court documents. She was found lying on top of her son as he lay unconscious. Burris was transported to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for treatment of what appeared to be an attempted overdose of acetaminophen pills. He was also covered in what troopers identified as Tiki oil, based on an open bottle found near him. His clothes and shoes were seized at the hospital by troopers and found to be soaked in liquid fuel.
Clemmons was found at the end of the driveway under a tarp with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head, according to court documents. Her body was autopsied by the State Medical Examiner’s Office, who confirmed the cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the head.
Burris was on federal probation for bank fraud, and was not allowed to have “firearms, ammunition, destructive device, or other weapon,” according to court documents. A .40-caliber pistol was found nearby, as well as two used shell casings — one near the gun and another 3 feet from Clemmons’ body.
Other stipulations of his release included drug testing. Director of Alaska Monitoring and Drug Testing Vince Holton arrived on scene and spoke with investigators, revealing that Burris had recently taken a drug test that came back positive for methamphetamine in his system. Holton had called Dickerson earlier that day and asked her to bring Burris to his office. When neither of them showed up, he headed to the home.
Troopers interviewed Dickerson, who initially denied owning any firearms, according to court documents. She later admitted to receiving a single silver colored pistol from her ex-boyfriend, but that she kept it in a motorhome adjacent to the home once Burris moved in with her. Troopers found several rifles in the motorhome, but no pistol. Court documents clarified the pistol allegedly used in the homicide was silver in color on the slide, although the handle was black.
The neighbor who initially called police, Shawna Laderach, told investigators that she heard a single gunshot around 3 p.m. but did not know where it happened. Dickerson called her and asked her to come over and watch Clemmons and Burris’ 7-month-old child. When she arrived, Dickerson reportedly told her she was going outside to look for Burris, and returned a few minutes later telling Laderach to call 911 because Clemmons was dead.
Burris was arrested and taken to the Fairbanks Correctional Center under a single charge of first-degree murder following his release from the hospital.