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Indiana man found guilty in 16-year-old girl's 1988 killing

Posted September 28, 2015 7:00 am

The Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - A northern Indiana jury has found a 45-year-old Mishawaka (mish-ah-WAH'-kuh) man guilty of murder in the 1988 shooting death of a 16-year-old girl.

The St. Joseph County jury took less than four hours of deliberating Monday to find Phillip Geans guilty of murder in the shooting death of Mishawaka High School sophomore Theresa Burns. Geans was arrested nearly 26 years after her death.

Geans opted not to testify during his five-day trial. His defense attorneys rested their case Friday after presenting one witness and two exhibits.

Geans was 17 when Burns was shot in her home after leaving school. Police say Geans and Burns knew each other through friends.

Prosecutor Ken Cotter reminded jurors during his closing statement that five people testified Geans confessed to them that he killed Burns.

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