In a tragic incident, Corey Burke, a 33-year-old employee at Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin, has been arrested for the murder of her elderly father, Timothy Burke, 67, on November 5th — the night of the 2024 U.S. elections. The crime occurred at their $800,000 home in Seattle, where Corey allegedly killed her father in a violent outburst.
Corey Burke, who works as a training manager at Blue Origin, reportedly confessed to the crime after emerging from the house with blood dripping from her face. According to police documents, she told officers she “freaked out” after an argument with her father over turning off the lights. Corey claimed there was something “important” about Election Day that made her feel as though she had to act.
It started when Timothy Burke, who was reportedly suffering from health problems and mostly housebound, refused to turn off the lights. Corey, in what she later described as a mental health crisis, went upstairs, grabbed an ice axe, and returned to her father. She tripped him, strangled him, and then attacked him with the weapon, hitting him in the head and body, both with sharp and blunt ends. Afterward, she reportedly bit him multiple times.
The police report revealed that Corey told detectives she “knew the killing needed to happen that day.” She also explained that she was unable to convince her father to turn off the lights, which drove her to a breaking point. She added that she felt better once her father “went limp.”
The attack ended with Timothy Burke’s body being found in the basement of their home, and Corey reportedly smashed several windows in what she described as an “act of liberation” after the killing. Neighbors had noticed her smashing windows and called 911, leading police to discover the horrifying scene inside the house.
When authorities arrived, Corey was in a strange state, clapping inside the home, and later explained that she felt she had been “reborn” on her 33rd birthday. She was taken to the hospital for a mental health evaluation but soon confessed to the murder, whispering to an officer, “I killed him.”
Corey’s wife, Samantha Leigh Allen, a well-known trans author and journalist, has not commented on the incident. Samantha, who has worked for The Daily Beast and currently edits Conde Nast’s LGBTQ+ news website, Them, has been thrust into the public eye due to this tragic event.
Investigators recovered the bloody ice axe from the crime scene, and Corey was charged with first-degree murder. She is currently being held on a $2 million bail and is set to appear in court on November 21st.
Corey allegedly told police that she had a strained relationship with her father and felt overwhelmed on Election Day. The police report also mentioned that she had planned to “help people change their attachment to their parents” but never elaborated on what that meant.
This shocking and tragic case has left everyone stunned. From the unthinkable violence to the strange circumstances surrounding it, Corey Burke’s actions have raised many questions about mental health, family relationships, and the events of that fateful Election Day.
