A woman and her 3-year-old grandson lost their lives at the hands of her son, leaving a family and community devastated.
On Sunday, police officers responded to 4909 Hillman Drive in Birmingham, Alabama, at 5:12 p.m. to perform a welfare check. Frantic family members were gathered outside the home when authorities arrived. After forcing their way into the house, officers made a gruesome discovery in the back room of the home. Cynthia Delane Burt and her toddler grandson, Desmond Burt, Jr., were deceased, with wounds that indicated they were murdered.
Some of the injuries pointed to blunt force trauma, though that has not been confirmed. Desmond Burt, Sr., was arrested at the scene for killing his 62-year-old mother and young son. No motive for the slayings has been shared publicly.
“We believed they died at the same time or in close proximity,” said Interim Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond.
Burt’s next-door neighbor, James McCarthy, called the double homicide a “traumatic loss.”
“She was a very sweet person. She made this neighborhood feel like home,” McCarthy said of his beloved neighbor.
Burt Sr. has been charged with two counts of capital murder. He is being held without bond. A GoFundMe has been established to help cover funeral costs for the victims.
