Michael Burham

Michael C. Burham is back in Chautauqua County.

On Wednesday, District Attorney Jason Schmidt announced the 35-year-old Burham was indicted by a Grand Jury and arraigned Wednesday in County Court on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and third-degree arson arising from the shooting death of Kala Hodgkin that occurred on May 11, 2023, in the city of Jamestown.

Burham was remanded without bail by county Judge David W. Foley. At this time, he will remain in Chautauqua County Jail during the pendency of the case. A discovery conference has been scheduled for Aug. 23.

“Ms. Hodgkin was gunned down while asleep in her home with her three children and dog,” Schmidt said. “At the time of her murder, she had accused Mr. Burham, her ex-boyfriend and father to one of her children, of forcibly raping her, leading Jamestown Police to charge him with rape in the first degree and unlawful imprisonment in the second degree. Those charges then resulted in the issuance of a Jamestown City Court warrant for Mr. Burham’s arrest two weeks earlier. The arrest warrant was outstanding when Ms. Hodgkin was killed.

“Within minutes after they were alerted of the shooting, members of Jamestown Police Department, the Chautauqua County Forensics Investigation Team and District Attorney’s Office were on scene developing and securing evidence, leading to a massive manhunt for Mr. Burham conducted by multiple state and federal law enforcement agencies which spread across several states until he was eventually taken into custody two weeks later in South Carolina.”

Burham later made national news last summer after he escaped from the Warren County Jail and was captured within a week. In November, he pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, theft and burglary.

Burham also pleaded guilty to a single count of escape during his appearance in Warren County Court.

Burham had been facing a total of 35 charges in Pennsylvania, including 17 felonies, ranging from kidnapping to burglary to escape. A total of 33 charges were from his alleged kidnapping of a Sheffield couple in May.

He received a total sentencing of 25 years, two months to 50 years in Pennsylvania.

“Given the obvious public safety concerns which arise when any violent felony is committed in our community, we are not always afforded the opportunity to hold off on filing charges until forensic analyses are completed,” Schmidt said. “Here we were able to do that through the cooperation of the Warren County District Attorney’s Office led by Robert Greene, the FBI and Pennsylvania State Police.”

Schmidt says the Burham case was presented to a Chautauqua County Grand Jury which issued a secret indictment that was not unsealed until after the extradition process was completed.

“Returning Mr. Burham to Chautauqua County to answer our indictment is just the first stage of a lengthy legal process which would not have gotten off the ground without the perseverance and dedication of Jamestown police which led the investigation,” Schmidt said. “Given our busy trial schedule and the litigation on this case which lies ahead, I do not expect a trial date before summer next year. We will be ready when that time comes.”