Frankie Dean Thomas Jr., a 37-year-old Black / African American male from Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, was killed on February 23, 2022, in the Shippensburg area of Cumberland County. What first appeared to emergency responders as a devastating house fire quickly became something far darker. Pennsylvania State Police were called to a burning home in the 100 block of Neil Road in Southampton Township, near Shippensburg, after two bodies were found at the property.
The Cumberland County Coroner later identified the victims as Thomas and 54-year-old Eddie Lee Shaw of Chambersburg, and determined that both men had died from gunshot wounds.
Reports described a scene in which violence had unfolded before the fire was set. Authorities alleged that Thomas and Shaw were shot and killed, and that the home was then intentionally set on fire. One report stated that Shaw was found inside the burning residence, while Thomas was found in a luxury vehicle in the driveway. The fire made the case immediately suspicious, but the coroner's findings confirmed that the men had not died from the blaze itself; they had been killed before or during the events surrounding it.
Investigators soon focused on Larry Burns and Cordaryl Burns. Arrest warrants were obtained on March 16, 2022, charging both men with homicide and related offenses. By then, authorities said, both suspects had fled Pennsylvania. On March 22, 2022, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Cordaryl Burns in Detroit, Michigan, while Larry Burns was arrested the same morning in Lumberton, North Carolina. Both men were accused in connection with the double homicide and arson, and both were expected to be extradited back to Pennsylvania to face charges.
As more court information became public, investigators alleged that the killings were tied to Larry Burns' obsession with Jasmine Forbes, a 31-year-old woman who had been staying at the Neil Road home. Reports said Forbes, Thomas, and Shaw had all been staying there, and that Burns believed Forbes “belonged” to him. Police alleged that Burns had contacted the homeowner, Immanuel Kharigub, demanding that Forbes be returned to him. Investigators also reportedly uncovered claims that Burns had placed a $50,000 bounty on Thomas because he believed Thomas and others were hiding Forbes from him.
The case became even more disturbing because Jasmine Forbes disappeared after the fire. Early reports described her as missing and endangered. Later, her remains were found in Florida, and authorities said they believed she had been murdered, though reports noted that Larry Burns and Cordaryl Burns had not been charged in her death at the time of those updates. Her disappearance and later discovery added another layer of fear and uncertainty to the case, but the charges tied directly to Thomas and Shaw centered on the alleged shooting deaths and the fire at the Neil Road home.
Larry Burns was formally arraigned in Cumberland County on charges that included criminal homicide, arson, criminal conspiracy, and related offenses. Prosecutors filed a Notice of Aggravating Circumstances, signaling their intent to seek the death penalty against him if he were convicted of first-degree murder. Cordaryl Burns was also charged with criminal homicide, first-degree murder, arson, person not to possess a firearm, criminal conspiracy, and additional offenses. Reports said he remained incarcerated without bail after his arrest and that he was later ordered to stand trial following a preliminary hearing.
The available public reporting describes the prosecution's theory as a deliberate attack: Larry Burns and Cordaryl Burns allegedly went to the Neil Road property, shot Frankie Dean Thomas Jr. and Eddie Lee Shaw, set the residence on fire, and then fled the state. As of the available online reports located, the case was described through arrests, charges, arraignments, preliminary hearings, and the prosecution's death-penalty notice against Larry Burns, but no final trial verdict or conviction was found in those reports.
