In the early morning hours of January 22, 2021, the quiet of a Hopkins, South Carolina neighborhood was broken by the sight of a home fully engulfed in flames. Neighbors of 42-year-old Brandon Burden called 911 to report the inferno at his residence on American Avenue. Firefighters arrived to battle the blaze, and after extinguishing the flames, they made a grim discovery inside: the body of Brandon Burden.
Initially, it was suspected that Burden had tragically perished in the house
fire, which investigators thought might have been started by a kerosene heater. However, an autopsy soon revealed a more sinister cause of death; Burden had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. This discovery transformed the case from a tragic accident into a homicide investigation, prompting the Richland County Sheriff's Department to delve into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire and Burden's death. The Richland County Fire Marshal later determined that the fire had been intentionally set.
As investigators searched for clues, they examined Burden's phone records, which showed calls to and from an unknown number in the early morning hours of his death. A neighbor's surveillance camera provided a crucial piece of the puzzle, capturing a car arriving at Burden's home around 2:40 a.m. About an hour later, a muzzle flash was visible on the video, followed by the same car leaving the scene. The unknown phone number was traced to 20-year-old Jamira Davis, who, it was discovered, was in a long-distance relationship with Burden and was also the daughter of a woman with whom Burden had been in a long-term relationship.
Jamira Davis was brought in for questioning on February 1, 2021. After initially providing conflicting accounts of her whereabouts on the night of the murder, she eventually admitted to shooting Brandon Burden but claimed it was in self-defense. Her various stories were inconsistent with the evidence gathered by law enforcement. Davis was subsequently arrested and charged with murder. In July 2023, a Richland County jury found Jamira Davis guilty of the murder of Brandon Burden. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison for her crime.
