News

QAnon allegedly 'told' man who killed his wife that she worked for CIA

QAnon allegedly 'told' man who killed his wife that she worked for CIA
Jimmy Kimmel mocks QAnon followers over bizarre JFK Jr conspiracy
YouTube

A Michigan man shot his wife three times after claiming QAnon members "told him" she was a CIA agent and needed to be killed.

Troy Burke, 45, was charged with open murder and felony firearms after killing his wife Jessica, 29, in their home last year.

Burke told prosecutors that he was receiving messages from QAnon – an eccentric group of conspiracy theorists who believe there's a deep state with child-eating paedophiles – through his tablet device.

According to The Morning Sun, the alleged "messages" urged him to kill his wife because she had ties with the CIA and was involved in a sex trafficking ring. It is unclear whether the messages were genuine or imaginary.

Burke then told investigators he had a "neuro-link" transplanted in his brain at a hospital in Grand Rapids, and as a result, people could read his thoughts.

The 45-year-old also had some elaborate theories about president Joe Biden.

Gratiot County Prosecutor Keith Kushion explained: "He also said that (President) Joe Biden had twins, a daughter and a son and that the son had a sex change and that's who his wife was."

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

According to Kushion, Burke had been hospitalised several times due to psychological issues.

He was ordered to take a competency examination conducted by state forensic psychologists. It concluded that he was not criminally responsible due to his mental state.

Burke took a separate independent psychiatric evaluation, which "came to the same conclusion" – he was not competent to stand trial.

Judge Schlegel ordered Burke to undergo additional tests at the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti for up to 60 days.

The results will determine whether Burke will spend his life in a state mental health institution.

Indy100 reached out to Gratiot County Court for comment.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Conversation (0)
x