Man found guilty of first-degree murder in downtown Santa Cruz parking garage stabbing

A Santa Cruz Superior Court jury on Friday found John Frederick Burke guilty of the first-degree murder of Neoklis Koumides in November 2022, with an enhancement of the use of a deadly weapon. The jury deliberated for only about an hour and 10 minutes.

The weeklong trial did not delve deeply into the motive for the fatal stabbing of Koumides, 36, a former Benchlands resident who was also known as “Nick the Greek,” beyond one witness testifying that he heard Burke, 65, make demands about money during the altercation inside a downtown Santa Cruz parking garage.

Instead, prosecutor Michael McKinney relied on extensive video surveillance footage, eyewitness testimony and DNA evidence to depict Burke as a man on a mission to commit premeditated murder in the early-morning hours of Nov. 21, 2022, as he left his Pacific Avenue home and headed to confront Koumides inside a parking garage at Cedar and Church streets.

“Eight minutes. That’s how long the defendant was gone from his apartment,” McKinney said on Friday at the start of his closing arguments. “In those eight minutes, he walked to the parking garage, stabbed Neoklis Koumides through his heart, kicked him on the way to the ground, and calmly walked home.”

McKinney told the jury that this case is “unique” because of the large amount of video evidence from the area directly around the crime scene, depicting the path the alleged attacker took to parking garage, the reactions from those sheltering in the parking garage, and video from inside Burke’s apartment building that shows him in the same clothing — and later washing that clothing — that eyewitnesses described in their testimonies.

He referenced California Department of Justice criminalist Jaime Baxter’s testimony about DNA testing performed on Burke’s shoes and on the knife that police seized from his apartment building. The blood from the shoe showed a “strong likelihood” that Koumides’ DNA was included in that sample. 

McKinney also pointed to a search of Burke’s phone, which revealed he was scouring the internet after the stabbing for information about local surveillance systems — specifically, those connected to the parking garage. “He’s looking to see, ‘Did they catch me on video?’” said McKinney.

McKinney shifted to discuss a video of Burke’s interview with the police that was shown on Thursday. When investigators asked Burke if he knew why he had been brought in for questioning, he said he had read about a stabbing in the news. McKinney said if he truly wasn’t involved in the crime, he wouldn’t have even brought it up. Later on, when investigators left the room, Burke muttered to himself, “Oh God, my name came up.”

All of this together, along with eyewitness testimonies, McKinney told the jury, proved that Burke is guilty of first-degree murder: “Just because we’re here having a trial does not mean there’s an issue you have to find. Sometimes, the evidence is clear. And when you use your common sense, the answer is clear.”

When Burke’s attorney, Art Dudley, addressed the jury, he said that the prosecution had not proven Burke’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt because of differences in eyewitness accounts of the description of the attacker. One witness, Javier Horvath, testified that the attacker was a large man — as tall as 6-foot-6 and about 240 pounds — while a second witness, Joseph Taylor, said the man was around 6 feet tall and 180 pounds.

“I’m not denying the fact that my client was there, and that he came to the scene,” he said. “The issue is who the actual perpetrator was.”

Dudley went further to say that, while his client might have gotten some blood on him, and maybe even had a “monetary grudge” against the victim, that does not prove guilt.

“A motive does not equal someone actually having committed the crime,” he said. “When you have two very straightforward, honest witnesses who came in here — called by the prosecution — who made that testimony [giving differing descriptions of the attacker], that’s when you have a reasonable doubt.”

But that wasn’t enough to convince the jury, who quickly came to a guilty verdict. Burke sat still on the left side of the courtroom, wearing a gray long-sleeved shirt and gray pants, and bearing a long white beard. He appeared calm and collected, if a bit haggard. The quiet demeanor he carried for the whole week did not change when the clerk read the verdict.

In a post-verdict interview, McKinney said he hopes Koumides’ family will have “a sense of closure” after the jury’s decision.

“I think they’re still grappling with trying to understand why this happened and why their son and brother is no longer here,” he said. “I think this will give them some sense of closure and justice that another family won’t have to go through this again from Mr. Burke.”

When asked if he will appeal the decision, Dudley said: “You always appeal these kinds of things.”

Another hearing in the case is scheduled to take place next Thursday at 1:30 p.m., where Judge Denine Guy will determine whether Burke has any prior convictions that would apply to his sentence. His sentencing date will be determined after that hearing.

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