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Michael Ryan Burke was a 42-year-old Marine veteran who was gunned down during what authorities say began as a Facebook Marketplace phone sale at his Columbia, Missouri home on January 18. Even as he lay dying, Burke called 911 to describe his attackers and sent a final, heartbreaking text to his mother and sister saying, “I’m dying and I love you,” a desperate last act from a man who had spent his life serving others.
Friends and family remember Burke as the kind of man this country needs more of — a decorated Marine, missionary and mentor who pushed others toward sobriety and service. People who knew him describe a devout, civic-minded patriot who spent time fighting human trafficking abroad and helping troubled young men at home, the kind of neighbor who gives without asking for anything in return.
Police moved quickly to arrest four suspects in the case: three 18-year-olds identified as Alexis Baumann, Kobe Aust and Joseph Crane, plus a male juvenile, all now facing charges that include second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary. Authorities also allege Crane and the juvenile face additional weapons charges, and the adults are being held without bond as the community demands answers and justice.
According to the affidavit reported by investigators, Burke’s killers allegedly used a Facebook Marketplace “ruse” to lure him to his own house, shot him during the robbery and then sold his phone at an ecoATM in a nearby Walmart — a cold, calculated chain of events that reads like something from the darkest corners of our social media age. This was not a spontaneous crime of passion; it was a planned operation carried out by teens willing to shoot a veteran for an iPhone.
Make no mistake: this tragedy exposes the rotten fruit of years of failed policies and cultural decay that leave young people without consequence, communities without safety, and law-abiding citizens vulnerable online. We can’t continue to pretend that “technology” absolves us from responsibility; permitting anonymous meetups at strangers’ homes and treating juvenile violence with leniency invites more Ryans to die.
Our gratitude for Burke’s service must be matched by action — stiffer penalties for violent, premeditated robberies; a tougher stance on juveniles who engage in armed crime; and stronger support for police doing the dangerous work of keeping our streets safe. The family of a man who served this nation shouldn’t have to beg for justice, and communities should not be a marketplace for predators who see human life as an obstacle to a quick score.
We mourn Michael Burke and stand with his loved ones, and we demand that prosecutors seek the full measure of justice for a life stolen in cold blood. America must recommit to law and order, to honoring its veterans with more than words, and to protecting the decent, hardworking people who still believe in neighborliness and sacrifice.
