On June 4, 1990, Marlene Burns, a 48-year-old woman, met a tragic end in a violent incident involving her boyfriend and roommate, Tony Alvin Ables. The altercation occurred at their residence, where Ables and Burns were engaged in a domestic dispute. Witnesses reported hearing the commotion and seeing Ables leaving the apartment, wiping blood off his hands. These witnesses had already called the police to report the domestic dispute, and upon their arrival, they found Burns severely injured.
During the incident, Burns was pushed down the stairs and subsequently beaten and kicked by Ables. The physical altercation was severe enough to result in her death. The police arrested Ables on the spot, and he was later charged with first-degree murder. Ables was held without bail at the Pinellas County jail following his arrest.
Tony Alvin Ables, born on December 28, 1954, had a history of violent behavior. At the age of 16, in 1970, he was involved in a robbery in St. Petersburg, Florida, which resulted in the death of a man. For this crime, Ables was arrested, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in March 1971, and received a life sentence. After serving 12 years in state prison, he was released on parole in 1983. Following his release, Ables found employment as a construction worker but continued to be involved in criminal activities.
Ables' history of violence extended beyond the incident with Marlene Burns. He was linked through DNA evidence in 2006 to the murders of two other women: Adeline McLaughlin, an 84-year-old widow who was suffocated with a pillow in 1983, and Deborah Kisor, a 31-year-old woman who was sexually assaulted and murdered in 1987. Although Ables was not charged with Kisor's murder due to their romantic involvement, which complicated the case, he was officially booked for McLaughlin's murder but has yet to be tried for it.
The trial for Marlene Burns' murder took place shortly after Ables' arrest. In early June 1990, Ables was convicted of her murder and initially sentenced to death by electrocution. However, two years later, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment due to his mental health issues. The commutation was supported by testimony from his brother, Anthony, who highlighted the difficult childhood they experienced, including abuse by their father and the departure of their mother from the family, which likely contributed to Ables' mental state.
Ables is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Marlene Burns and remains a suspect in other unsolved crimes, with police indicating a high probability that he may be responsible for additional homicides beyond those already linked to him.
