Victim John Burkhardt. Credit: Fontana Police Department
Police say they’ve solved a 32-year-old cold-case killing of a Southern California man, and the suspect is already serving a prison sentence on an unrelated charge.
On March 25, 1990, John Carl Burkhardt was found deceased in the living room of his home in the City of Fontana. Burkhardt was stabbed multiple times and his home was ransacked. A close friend of the victim found him in his residence after he failed to show up for breakfast. Investigators at the time followed up on and exhausted all leads and the case went cold.
In 2003, a witness came forward stating she witnessed the murder and identified the suspect as Michael Joseph Vance. The witness stated Vance asked her to go with him to pick up his paycheck from the victim. Both the suspect and witness had been invited inside the residence. An argument took place between the Burkhardt and Vance over money owed to Vance. Vance obtained a steak knife from the kitchen and stabbed Burkhardt numerous times. After Burkhardt’s death, Vance and witness stole items from the residence before leaving.
During the initial investigation, multiple items of evidence, including fingerprints, were collected from inside the residence by evidence technicians.
Thanks to improvements in forensic technology, investigators eventually were able to match fingerprints from the knife to Vance, police said.
Vance denied knowing Burkhardt, but in September 2021 the case was presented to the San Bernardino District Attorney’s Office. In April, Vance pleaded to a voluntary manslaughter charge, according to authorities.
Vance, 56, was at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, Calif. for an unrelated crime and will serve his sentence concurrently with his remaining time, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.