A decorated Marine veteran was fatally shot at his home during a Facebook Marketplace sale — and he spent his final moments describing his attackers to police over the phone before heartbreakingly texting his family goodbye.
Michael Ryan Burke, 42, was gunned down during a sale-turned-robbery involving a cellphone at his home in Columbia, Missouri on Sunday, according to the Columbia Police Department.
Three 18-year-olds and a juvenile male have been arrested and charged with murder in Burke’s senseless killing.
Burke’s college pal and fraternity brother, Jerry Reifeiss, described the veteran’s final moments in an interview with KRCG13.
Reifeiss said that it was hard to fathom Burke was killed during a Facebook marketplace robbery, but likened his resolve in his final moments to the same courage that pushed him to enlist in the military.
He said that Burke held on long enough to call 911 and describe the quad of attackers. He also managed to text his mother and sister “I’m dying and I love you” before he was rushed to a local hospital, where he died.
“That was just Ryan. He always put people in front of him and wanted to make sure people know how he felt. He didn’t want to go on to the next life and pass away without providing some information to us that would bring justice to these people and let people know he always loves them,” Reifeiss told the outlet.
During his time at the University of Missouri, Burke double majored in psychology and sociology, which he wrote was part of “the greatest investment in [his] future,” according to a 2016 Facebook post.
“I am thankful for the education I received at the University of Missouri because, in my experience, it’s not so much a weapon but the training of the mind that makes a man dangerous,” he wrote.
When Burke wasn’t in active duty, he was completing missionary work in different parts of the globe, including Uganda, Reifeiss said. In the Facebook post, Burke highlighted his volunteer work in the “fight against human trafficking.”
Alexis Baumann, Kobe Aust, Joseph Crane, all 18-year-old locals, and an unidentified male juvenile were all charged with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and burglary.
Crane faces two extra charges for unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. The juvenile has a single additional charge for unlawful use of a weapon, according to the Columbia Police Department.
Baumann, Aust and Crane are being held without bond at the Boone County Jail. The juvenile is in custody at the Boone County Juvenile Office.
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