Court documents reveal threat allegedly made by suspect in deadly house fire
EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) – Court documents obtained by News 4 on Wednesday detail a threat allegedly made by a man arrested Tuesday, who is accused of murdering a man he knew.
An Edmond Police spokesperson said the city's fire department initially arrived to a home near Magnolia Lane around 4 p.m. on Friday, March 29.
"When they entered to extinguish the fire they located one victim, a 31-year-old male deceased," said Emily Ward, spokesperson for the Edmond Police Department. "Our detectives arrived and took over the investigation at that point."
The affidavit says deputies found the victim, William Burgess, severely burned beyond identification.
News 4 spoke with a man on Wednesday who said he was visiting a friend nearby on Friday, and didn't think much of it when he smelled smoke.
"I was like, gosh, I wish I had done a little bit more due diligence and just kind of walked and found out where it was," said Pat Howe.
An officer said in the affidavit that he found blood throughout the house belonging to Burgess.
The affidavit also says Burgess' truck was missing from his home.
Burgess' truck was found Saturday, less than a mile away from suspect Matthew Branch's home.
Photos taken by a News 4 employee the same day that truck was found, police said, are connected to the same investigation.
The affidavit said the inside of the truck had been burnt and there was a bottle of accelerant on the truck's center console.
A search warrant was issued Tuesday for Branch's home, which officers said led to his arrest.
The affidavit said, after being questioned by detectives, Branch admitted to stabbing Burgess on Friday and leaving the scene in his truck.
"He was placed under arrest for first degree murder, first degree arson, and first third degree arson," said Ward. "It's a terrible tragedy, and our detectives have been working very diligently over these past few days to locate the suspect and get justice for this victim."
The affidavit shed light on a previous working relationship between Branch and Burgess.
It said that they were former co-workers and had gotten into a fight about a month ago.
It alleged that Burgess told their former employer that Branch had told him he would, "get him."
Police said no other people were inside the home at the time of the fire, but a dog Burgess owned died.