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Note: Shirley graduated from Washington Jr. HS in 1945. Fresno Bee Republican (Fresno, California), Dec. 14, 1951 - Asks Custody - Mrs. Shirley Ann McBriar asks custody of their one child and a monthly support allowance of $107.50 a month after her divorce action aganst John Alvin McBriar, a sailor. She charges cruelty. The couple were married in Kellogg, Ida., in July, 1950. Star-News (Pasadena, California), 18 Mar 1959 - Mother of 3 Garroted in Fresno Home Children Find Her Body in Closet; Police Hunt Husband Fresno, Calif. - UPI - The nude body of an attractive mother of three small children was found garroted with a man’s long woolen sock in her home her early today. The body of Mrs. Shirley Ann Burgess, 29, had been stuffed into a bathroom closet in the two-bedroom home. The body was discovered by her eldest child, Steve, 7, after being awakened by his sisters, Janine, 4, and Rebecca, nine months. Mrs. Burgess’ husband, Robert, about 30, was identified as a truck driver. His semi-truck and trailer rig was seen at the home late yesterday. Burgess’ employer reported he left Fresno late last night on a hauling job to Southern California. Police alerted authorities there to take Burgess into custody for questioning. The murder was reported to police at 2 a.m. by a neighbor W. D. Jessee. He was awakened by persistent ringing of his doorbell. When he went to the door he said he found Steve and his two sisters. “My mommie’s in the closet. I think she’s dead,” Jessee quoted Steve as saying. Steve told officers Janine, who slept with him in the rear bedroom, awoke because it was hot in the house and began asking for water. He said he went into the front bedroom and found Rebecca playing in her crib alongside his parent’s empty bed. He searched through the house and eventually found his mother’s body. Steve and Janine said they had heard no noises during the night and when asked the whereabouts of Burgess, Steve replied, “he’s gone far away.” Deputy Coroner Alpherd Dickinson said there were no signs of a struggle in the house. He said an examination of the body fixed the time of death between 10 p.m. and midnight. Steve told officers he and his sisters were put to bed by their mother about 7:30 o’clock last night. “They” said letters found in the house indicated Mrs. Burgess had been married previously to a sailor identified as John Alvin McBriar. They said Steve was a child of that marriage. Officers described the victim as a “small, good-looking woman.” They said she kept a neat house and the children were apparently well-cared for. The children were taken to the home of Mrs. Burgess’ mother. The Los Angels Times, 19 Mar 1959: Mother Found Strangled in Closet of Home FRESNO, March 18 Two of the three small children of Mrs. Shirley Ann Burgess, 28, early today discovered her nude and garroted body stuffed in a closet of their home. The eldest of the three A Steven McBriar, 7, a son by a previous marriage, dressed himself, bundled up his smaller sister, Janine, 4. and the baby of the family, Rebecca, 9 months, and trudged to the home of a neighbor to report the tragedy. Police arriving on the scene found Mrs. Burgess had been strangled with a man’s long woolen stocking, apparently taken from a pile of laundry. There were no signs of violence except for a handful of Mrs. Burgess hair lying in the living room and a second handful in the bedroom. Mrs. Burgess was separated from her husband, Robert, a truck driver, who has been living in a downtown hotel. Burgess' employer reported he left Fresno last night on a hauling job to Southern California. A sister, Mrs. Marvin Koontz, reported to police Mrs. Burgess had told her of a man loitering about the place despite her threat to call the police. Mrs. Burgess said the man hung about the rear fence, claiming to be looking for "a man named Anderson," and later sat in his car across the street. Det. Theodore C. Lindsay and Patrolman William E. Grove said the small girl, Janine, awakened during the night and began crying for a drink of water. Steven got up to awaken their mother. When they failed to find her, they searched through the house and the little girl discovered her mother’s body on the floor of a closet off the bathroom. Dep. Coroner Alphord Dickinson reported Mrs. Burgess apparently was killed between 10 p.m. and midnight. Investigation showed she apparently put the children to bed at 7:30 p.m. and did not leave the house after that.
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