Murder suspect indicted
by Piscataquis County grand jury
By Nok Noi Ricker
Special to the Observer
DOVER FOXCROFT — Murder suspect Robert Burton, the Abbot man who earlier this year led police on the longest active manhunt in Maine history, was indicted Oct. 29 by the Piscataquis County grand jury.
Burton, who has used the aliases Robert Elliot and Robert Glen Elliott, 38, is charged with killing Stephanie Ginn Gebo, a single mother of two, on June 5, the day after his probation for previous domestic violence crimes ended. He was indicted for murder, a Class A crime, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, a Class C crime, according to Tim Feeley, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, which handles the prosecution of murder cases in Maine.
Ginn Gebo, 37, broke up with Burton the week before her death and was so afraid of him that she changed the locks at her Parkman home and was sleeping with a handgun, states the six-page affidavit released after Burton’s first court appearance.
Her body was discovered by her 13-year-old daughter on the floor of her bedroom, and Burton’s backpack was found outside the first-floor bedroom’s window. She had two gunshot wounds to the center of her back, and evidence that a pillow was used to silence the sound of the shots, states the affidavit filed by state police Detective Thomas Pickering of the Major Crimes Unit North.
Piscataquis County Sheriff John Goggin previously said Ginn Gebo was shot to death with her own gun after wounding Burton as he broke into her home.
Burton led police on a 68-day manhunt that ended when he turned himself in at Piscataquis County Jail on Aug. 11, partially out of fear that he would be shot, according to his court-appointed attorney Jeffrey Toothaker of Ellsworth.
Burton’s lengthy criminal history.includes more than 10 years in prison for domestic violence crimes in 2002 that ended with a 12-day manhunt. He has convictions for kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, terrorizing, assault, tampering with a witness, trafficking in prison contraband and several violations of conditions of release, according to a background check done with the state’s Bureau of Identification.
The most recent manhunt for Burton involved multiple law enforcement agencies from Maine — including Maine State Police, Maine Warden Service and the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office — as well as others from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. A group of 15 Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and others who provided technical support also came to Maine on June 20 to assist state police. There were assisting agencies, such as the Maine Department of Transportation, which supplied electronic signs and the manpower to put them into place to warn people traveling in the area about the manhunt.
The bill for the state police portion of the search alone is estimated at $500,000, Col. Robert Williams, chief of the Maine State Police, said shortly after Burton turned himself in to authorities.
The manhunt put the entire region on edge, residents and relatives of Ginn Gebo said.
No details have been released about how Burton eluded police for more than two months.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 1-866-834-4357, TRS 1-800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.