Sins & Survivors: A Las Vegas True Crime Podcast - A Father's Nightmare - The Murder of Michelle Carson

Episode Date: May 21, 2024

Michele’s trip to Las Vegas was supposed to be a fun getaway with friends, but days later, her burned body was found in the desert. As investigators uncovered the truth, all signs pointed to her ex-boyfriend, Justin Burns. “We had no idea, absolutely zero idea, until it was too late,” John Carson, Michele’s father told the press after his daughter was found dead in the desert south of Las Vegas.http://sinspod.co/episode28sourcesDomestic Violence Resourceshttp://sinspod.co/resourcesClick here to become a member of our Patreon!https://sinspod.co/patreonVisit and join our Patreon now and access our ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content & schwag!Apple Podcast Subscriptionshttps://sinspod.co/appleWe're now offering premium membership benefits on Apple Podcast Subscriptions! On your mobile deviceLet us know what you think about the episodehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2248640/open_sms Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sins-survivors-a-las-vegas-true-crime-podcast--6173686/support.

To listen ad-free, visit Zinspod.co slash subscribe. Starting at $2.99 a month, you'll also get access to our exclusive bonus content episodes when you join through Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Thanks for supporting the show! Michelle Carson traveled to Las Vegas with her friend Vicky in October 2010. They came into town from West Covina, California, to get together with friends. One of those friends was Michelle's ex-boyfriend, Justin Burns. We had no idea, absolutely no idea, until it was too late,

John Carson, Michelle's father, told the press, after his daughter was found dead in the desert south of Las Vegas. Hi, and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence, missing persons, and unsolved cases. I'm your host, Sean, and with me, as always, is the one and only John. I am the only John in the room. The case we have this week involves an intensive police investigation and some troubling details about the admitted murderer's downward spiral of mental health troubles. But I'll start us off by talking about Michelle Carson. Her parents are Esther DeLeon Carson and John Carson. Michelle also has two older brothers, Kevin and Daniel. Michelle graduated from Nogales High School in La Puente, California in 2003.

These California cities I mentioned are in Southern California and part of the greater Los Angeles area. After high school, she went to Cal State Fullerton to study criminal justice. She wanted to work with at-risk youth or in youth probation, working with kids and keeping them from falling into a life of crime. She graduated with her bachelor's degree in 2008. Michelle was planning to continue her education by obtaining a master's degree. Michelle's father, John, described her as being a vibrant person, full of life, confident and independent. she loved to travel and was an intelligent, goal-oriented and exceptional person. As I mentioned, Michelle had an ex-boyfriend, Justin Burns, that she had met at Cal State Fullerton.

Justin was born on August 19, 1983, so the two of them were basically the same age. Justin was originally from Las Vegas. Justin's father was Michael Spider-Man Burns, who was one of the top players in UNLV basketball history. At the time he played for the Rebels, he was their 13th highest all-time scorer. He played for the team from 1978 through 1982 and was coached by the legendary Jerry Tarkanian. He led the team in assists and steals in 1980-81, and the year he graduated, 1982, he was the only UNLV player to be drafted in the NBA draft. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls, but was not offered a contract. His mom was Betty Kincaid Burns, and he also had an older brother,

Jason Burns, who also played college basketball like their father. He played for Georgetown for one year. Jason and Justin also have three younger sisters. Justin's parents divorced in 1998 when he was around 15 years old. His dad continued to live in Las Vegas, but his mom moved to Mississippi. Like his older brother, Justin also followed in his father's footsteps and played basketball for Bishop Gorman High School here in Las Vegas. He went on to play basketball in college. He was 6'7", and he played on the Cal State Fullerton team from 2004 to 2007. He was even named Player of the Week in the Big West Men's Basketball Division in 2006. According to his coach, right before Justin was about to graduate, he left school

suddenly. His coach said he had just disappeared, and the coach never heard from him. Justin returned to school the following year and tried to get back on track, but suddenly left school again. After he left Cal State, according to his dad, he went overseas and played basketball in Portugal, but then went back to live with his mom in Mississippi. His dad, Michael, said he had come back to Vegas, hoping he would get back into shape and start playing basketball again. He stayed with his dad for two to three weeks, but then his dad lost contact with him. Justin's friends said that he was hanging around, couch surfing, crashing with friends, and he didn't have a job or a place to live. Michelle and Justin started dating in 2004, and their relationship was on again,

off again for about six years. They broke up in July of 2010. During the time the two were dating, John had spent time with Justin between 10 and 15 times, and on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. The last time John had seen him was in 2008. John and Esther said that Justin was polite and respectful, and according to his coach, he was never a violent person. In October 2010, Michelle was living with her dad in West Covina. She and her best friend, Vicky Rojas, decided to go to Vegas to visit friends. It was also reported they were traveling to Vegas to blow off some steam before their master's program started. The two of them drove to Vegas in Michelle's car, and they checked into the Gold Coast Hotel.

Michelle and Justin met up, and it's reported they decided to try dating again. According to Vicky, she overheard the two of them get into an argument on one of the nights during the trip. Vicky only stayed in Vegas for a week. She ended up flying home while Michelle stayed behind and rented a weekly apartment with Justin near the Palms Casino. The court records showed that the apartment was rented in her name from November 2nd to November 8th. In the late afternoon of November 6th, Justin and Michelle went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory near Green Valley Ranch in Henderson. According to their server, Michelle wasn't talking at all. She seemed to be in a bad mood or sad, and Justin was agitated. They were seen on surveillance leaving the restaurant at about 4 p.m. According to phone records, around 11 p.m., almost midnight, Michelle was alone in

that apartment, and the two of them were arguing over text messages. Justin was outside of the apartment when the argument started. He was demanding that she let him in or come outside. The grand jury testimony included this one exchange. I'm going to read it verbatim, uncensored. Justin, good luck with everything. Michelle, what the fuck ever. Some fucking guy was over here harassing me, but I guess you just don't give a shit anymore. Then five minutes later, Michelle, that's some good shit to know. We don't fuck with each other like that. Never call me again for anything. Justin, you full of shit. I've been outside for a minute. Ain't nobody out here. Michelle, yeah, fucked, right? Justin, open the door. Justin, you full of shit. I've been outside for a minute. Ain't nobody out here. Michelle, yeah, fucked, right?

Justin, open the door. Justin, meet me in front. We don't know what exactly happened after that. Around 6 p.m. on November 7th, a white 2008 Nissan Altima was found, strangely abandoned in an apartment complex parking lot on the historic west side of Vegas, with the engine running, the air conditioner blasting, the radio on, and the driver's side door wide open. The car had California plates, and the officers who arrived on the scene noted that it was suspicious. The back seat of the car was empty. Inside the trunk, there were personal items, letters, photos, and some luggage, but there was no obvious damage to the car or any blood.

The officer got into the driver's seat and turned off the engine. The officers discovered that it was registered to Michelle Carson. The address on her registration was her home in West Covina that she shared with her dad. They were able to get a phone number for the address, and the officers called John Carson. The officers explained that Michelle's car had been found under those suspicious circumstances we described, but John had not heard from Michelle since she drove to Las Vegas. He started calling her cell phone, but it kept going to voicemail. John was extremely concerned. He said he was in total disarray, and he called her over and over again with it going to voicemail. He also reached out to others, hoping they could get in touch with Michelle. When the crime scene investigator arrived at

the apartment complex to process and impound the car, the officers started chatting with him, asking how his day had been, some small talk. The crime scene investigator told them it had been a rough day, with three homicides happening in the Las Vegas Valley that day. The officers got him up to speed on how the car was registered to a single white female and that they had contacted her dad. The CSI knew one of his colleagues had been to a crime scene south of Las Vegas earlier that day. Based on the pictures they had found in the car and the description John had given of Michelle, the CSI reached out to his fellow crime scene investigator, and unfortunately, they discovered that it was likely that the remains that were

recovered earlier that day were Michelle Carson. On the morning of November 7th, two men went out into the desert to do some target shooting. The two friends that we'll call Mark and Eric chose a spot they visited regularly for target shooting, an open area of desert along a dirt road off the I-15 just south of Las Vegas, near Exit 25 or Sloan Road. For anyone who's driven from Vegas to California, this exit is south of the M Casino but before Seven Magic Mountains, about 15 miles from the center of the strip near Gene. This was one of the hobbies these two friends enjoyed together. They spent some time launching and shooting clay targets as well as a few apples. When they ran out of targets, they walked further

south along a creek bed, shooting at other random items in the desert. Mark noticed there was a pile of charred rocks off to the left of where they were walking. To Mark, this was a very strange thing to see, because having a bonfire in the desert in that area wouldn't be the smartest idea. There was a lot of flammable debris and things including ammunition shells. They walked closer, and Mark saw what appeared to be a face and an arm sticking out from below the charred rocks. Mark said, as many people have said when they encounter a moment like this, that at first, he thought it was a mannequin.

He told the grand jury that slowly, reality started to set in, and he realized it was a woman's body partially buried under the rocks. Mark and his friend went back to their cars. Mark called 911 and drove back out along the dirt road back toward Las Vegas Boulevard, leaving Eric where they had parked. Mark explained that he went out back to Las Vegas Boulevard so he could help direct officers to the correct location. As Mark described, the rocks were charred and black and had been doused with gasoline

and were still smoldering. Michelle's body had been significantly burned. The autopsy would reveal that Michelle had died from ligature strangulation and had been burned over 80% of her body after her death. Her head had been crushed by a boulder, but that was determined to be post-mortem. According to her father, John, there was nothing left that they could bury. It wasn't until after Michelle's death that her parents found out that she had met up with Justin while she was in Vegas. It was at that time that they could bury. It wasn't until after Michelle's death that her parents found out that she had met up with Justin while she was in Vegas. It was at that time that they also learned that Justin had been violent with Michelle. He had slapped her in the past. According to her dad,

they were completely unaware of this abuse. Detectives recovered Michelle's cell phone and they were able to identify the last number she had called. They got a court order signed by a judge ordering Metro PCS to turn over the phone records for that number. That number belonged to Justin Burns. The police were able to obtain all of Justin's phone records, which included his location pings, his call history, and his text messages. It was no surprise that these records showed that he was in the area where Michelle's body was found at the time of her murder.

According to his location records, Justin drove south on the I-15 very early in the morning of November 7th. He made four phone calls starting at 3.27 a.m. The first phone call pinged off a cell tower at Flamingo and Valley View, which would be the area for the Gold Coast, the Palms, and the apartment Michelle rented for the week. Then, nine minutes later, another call is made that pings off a tower at Maryland Parkway and Desert Inn Road. The next two calls, again, ping off towers in South Las Vegas and Henderson, indicating that Justin was traveling south. He made a phone call a little before 5 a.m. that pinged off a cell tower near where Michelle's remains were found. The police were able to follow the path Justin had taken from where he was known to be staying directly to the area where her body was found. The location information was only part of the

story, though. Justin's phone records also revealed that a few days later, after the murder, he contacted a criminal defense attorney and a psychiatrist. Detectives determined that Justin had killed Michelle, transported her body in the desert using her own car. After burning and burying her in rocks, he dumped the car on the historic west side. The detectives developed this theory once they connected the car to Michelle's murder. You see, Michelle was only 5'6", and as we mentioned here, Justin was 6'7". During grand jury testimony, John, her father, who is 5'11", testified that whenever he would borrow Michelle's car, he would have to move the seat back. Michelle drove fairly close to the steering wheel because she was shorter, making it difficult for him to get in without moving the car seat back first.

Given the position of the driver's seat when the car was found, the police knew that it wasn't likely that Michelle was the one who had driven her car herself and abandoned it. The officer who got in the car was 5'9", and he stated he got into the driver's seat with no problem whatsoever. Consequently, the police theorized that Justin had taken the car and left it like that, hoping that it would be stolen. Detectives also discovered through the phone records that Justin's father, Michael, was contacting psychiatrists for Justin as a result of what the Las Vegas Sun called an incident with his girlfriend. On December 8th, the Las Vegas Sun reported that the police were asking the public for help,

asking for tips and information. A woman that we'll call Tina came forward. She reported to Metro Police that her boyfriend, who we'll call Scott, told her that Jason Burns, Justin's brother, had told him that Justin had killed his girlfriend, burned her body, and buried her in the desert. The police were able to corroborate that story with Scott. Jason had, in fact, told him that Justin killed his girlfriend. Notably, Jason and Michael Burns reportedly did not assist in the investigation. His dad was told that Michelle's car was found, but he would not tell the police where Justin was. This sort of reminds us of what happened with Leslie Palacio's murder, which we covered a few weeks ago.

In that case, Eric Ibarra's father helped him move Leslie's body into his truck so that Eric could drive her out to the desert and dispose of her in a very similar manner. Those two then fled to Mexico together. While Eric's father finally gave himself up, he never assisted the police in any way in finding his vile murderer son. The anniversary of Leslie's death is coming up, so we'll be sure to share information about that case if you haven't listened to it, as well as Eric Rangel's wanted poster. Further investigation revealed that Justin's parents had him committed to Monta Vista Hospital in November after Michelle's car was found. Monta Vista was a psychiatric hospital located here in Las Vegas, but it's now closed. According to Michael, Justin was acting

paranoid and strange and was saying that people were after him. His dad had told the grand jury that while Justin was hospitalized there, he attempted suicide. Justin was then transferred to Southern Hills Hospital, however, on December 10th. He checked himself out of the hospital and fled to Mississippi. Michael stated that he discovered this when he called the hospital to check in on Justin, and the staff told him that he had just left. It took some time to track him down, but on March 17th, 2011, Justin was finally arrested in Mississippi. It had been four months since Michelle's death. According to reporting, he was hiding out with his family in Jackson. His arrest was a coordinated effort between the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Las Vegas Metro Police, and the Leak County Sheriff's Office. According

to the FBI, he was arrested without incident. Justin was extradited back to Nevada. He was indicted on murder in the second degree with a deadly weapon. He pleaded not guilty and was held without bail. At the time of his arrest, John Carson told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, John Carson did not provide a specific date to reporters, but this is interesting. John told the press that at some time while Justin was incarcerated, he wrote a letter to Michelle's parents. According to John in the letter, Justin did not take any accountability. He was only making excuses and told them that he was

a troubled person. Unfortunately, we have another example of a case where getting a resolution took years. The trial was delayed and delayed numerous times. Justin went through seven different attorneys. At one point, Justin's mother, acting with power of attorney, attempted to file petitions for writs of habeas corpus. She also attempted to have him moved to a mental health facility. The court found that her filings were improper. However, all of this contributed to the trial being delayed for years. One of the points of contention between the defense and the state was Justin's cell phone records. In February 2013, Justin's attorney filed a motion to suppress the

cell phone records, stating that the police needed a warrant to obtain that information, and the information was seized in violation of Justin's Fourth Amendment rights. The state argued that the police had Michelle's cell phone already, and Justin's number was the last number she contacted, so that constituted probable cause. The defense argued that the police had taken advantage of the cell phone, and that most people don't know they're being tracked by a cell phone, which 10 years ago may or may not have been a valid argument. The defense also argued that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in those text messages, which, at this point in time, would definitely not be the case.

Judge Vega ruled that the cell phone information, Justin's location pings, as well as the content of the text messages would be admissible in court. She ruled the defendant did have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his text messages, however, but the police had properly obtained the cell phone records by lawful court order and the police acted in good faith. As I said, getting a resolution in this case took years. On May 7th, 2014, three years after he was arrested, Justin changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. July 7th, 2015, four and a half years after Michelle was murdered, the state told the judge that they were getting close to reaching a plea agreement, so the trial was continued again. Later that year, Justin again dismissed his attorney. The public defender's office told the judge that because of Justin's behavior

and how his mother had tried to intervene in his defense by filing her own petitions and so on, the public defender's office stated they just couldn't effectively represent him. As a result, the special public defender's Office was appointed to represent Justin. The Special Public Defender's Office is pretty much what it sounds like. In special situations where there's a conflict with the regular Public Defender's Office, the Special Public Defenders are available to represent defendants. But to me, it's not clear how effective they were able to be, because in December of 2015, Justin filed another petition called Urgent Matter Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution, Discovery Violation, and Violation of U.S. Constitutional Rights under Sixth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Violation of State Constitution, Section 1, Inalienable Rights, Section 8, Depreciation of Rights, Section 8, Due Process of law. Section 17, involuntary servitude. The

document is 45 pages long. The court records from late 2015, early 2016 show that Justin's mental health was really taking a turn. He became unresponsive and he started refusing to eat or drink. As a result, he was involuntarily medicated and moved to a psychiatric hospital that's called Rosson Neal. He received treatment and medication, and on May 6, 2016, he was found competent to stand trial. However, by November, Justin was refusing to take his medication and needed to be medicated involuntarily again. Throughout this whole ordeal, John Carson was present at every hearing that occurred, desperate for justice and resolution for Michelle. In an interview with the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, John reported that during Justin's incarceration, John and Esther actually met with

Justin. John told him that he had to accept accountability and stop delaying the trial. Thankfully for Michelle's parents, on July 31, 2017, Justin agreed to plead guilty to murder in the second degree with the use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 10 to 25 years, and he would be eligible for parole after 10 years. With time served, that meant that Justin's first parole hearing was held in 2020. Michelle's dad drove in from California to be there at the parole hearing. Justin was not present, but John was able to make a statement and parole was denied. His next hearing would be in December of 2023. He never made it to his second parole hearing. On June 8, 2023, Justin Burns died by suicide in prison. He was 39 years old. John found out when he got an alert on his phone that

Justin's inmate status had changed, and when he called the Nevada Department of Corrections, they told him that Justin had been found dead in his cell. John was quoted as saying, I was relieved. He would never ever hurt another person. The rest of my life was going to be spent to keep him behind bars. I don't believe in a death penalty, but I believe if you're that sick, there's something wired wrong.

He's a loose cannon, and I sincerely felt he would have murdered again. He told reporters that he cried when he heard the news because he was sad for Justin's family, but also relieved for his own family. He expressed a great appreciation to the DA's office and for Las Vegas Metro's victim advocate that helped him during the whole process. After Justin's death, as we stated, John was very relieved that he didn't have to attend any more hearings and that he wouldn't have to worry about Justin getting out of prison and hurting or killing anyone else. In light of the circumstances of Michelle's murder, her parents became domestic violence advocates. They told the Daily Breeze that they had never given much thought to domestic violence until they learned Michelle had been a victim.

Her parents visited Las Vegas frequently to attend domestic violence awareness events. John has said, I don't want any other parent to go through the pain I and my family went through. He says some secrets shouldn't be kept and that violence can escalate quickly. He wants to encourage people to speak out and get help. Michelle's friend Vicky has said that she wishes she hadn't kept Justin's abuse a secret from Michelle's parents. She said she never thought it would reach a place where Michelle would be killed. We understand where Vicki and John are coming from, and that's a part of why we do this podcast. Michelle's family and friends suffered a horrible loss.

We have resources in our show notes and on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com, and we encourage anyone who's experiencing domestic violence or affected by it in any way to reach out to resources for support. Also, anyone going through mental health struggles can call 988 for help. If you're enjoying the podcast, please visit your platform of choice and give us a review. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, wherever. It helps get the word out about these important stories. We'll continue the conversation on this week's Swing Shift Now, our overtime episode. If you want to hear that and also get ad-free episodes, you can either join our Patreon by going to sinspod.co slash Patreon, or you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts

at sinspod.co slash Apple. And remember, what happens here happens everywhere. Thanks for listening. Visit sinspod.co slash subscribe for exclusive bonus content and to listen ad-free. Remember to like and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Threads at Sins and Survivors. If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice. You can contact us at questions at sinsandsurvivors.com. If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence or needs support, please reach out to local resources or the National Domestic Violence Hotline. A list of resources is available on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com.

Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, is research written and produced by your hosts, Sean and John. The information shared in this podcast is accurate at the time of recording. If you have questions, concerns, or corrections, please email us. Links to source material for this episode can be found on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcast creators, hosts, and their guests. All individuals are innocent until proven guilty. This content does not constitute legal advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with legal professionals for guidance.