August 8, 2016
A Brisbane Supreme Court jury has found a 21-year-old former Cherbourg resident guilty of the rape and murder of a pregnant woman in Logan three years ago.
Andrew Michael Burke had pleaded not guilty in relation to the death of Joan Ryther, 27, whose body was found on May 22, 2013, within metres of a McDonald’s restaurant where she worked.
The court was told Burke turned 18 on the day he was arrested, 11 days after Mrs Ryther’s body was found.
On Monday, Justice Debra Mullins sentenced Burke to life imprisonment for murder, 14 years for rape, and five years for causing the death of Mrs Ryther’s eight-week-old unborn child.
