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Jun 11, 2009 8:17 pm US/Central
ND Man Charged In 1993 Moorhead Killing
FARGO, N.D. (AP) ―
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Last fall, Stafford's death was one of 52 cold cases featured on a deck of playing cards distributed in jails and prisons by Minnesota law enforcement officials.
CBS
Authorities say they have solved a 16-year-old murder case in charging a North Dakota man with strangling a woman after she called him retarded.
Clay County authorities on Thursday charged 44-year-old Clarence Michael Burcham of Center with second-degree murder in the death of Sharon Stafford.
Stafford was found dead in her mobile home in Moorhead on Nov. 2, 1993. Clay County prosecutor Brian Melton said Burcham, who was interviewed by police last week, strangled Stafford with a cord.
"Mr. Burcham did provide specific information regarding how he killed Miss Stafford," Melton said.
Burcham told authorities the two "had some interaction and had done some kissing," the prosecutor said.
"At some point, she had called him retarded which got him angry," Melton said. Burcham told authorities he then beat, raped and killed Stafford, Melton said.
"I'm confident in the evidence, and that it will prove Mr. Burcham guilty of the murder of Sharon Stafford," Melton said at a news conference.
Prosecutors have recommended Burcham's bond be set at $1 million. Melton said Burcham is being held in North Dakota until he can be brought to Minnesota.
Last fall, Stafford's death was one of 52 cold cases featured on a deck of playing cards distributed in jails and prisons by Minnesota law enforcement officials.
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Stafford, 26, was found dead on Nov. 2, 1993.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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