David John Bourke

David John Bourke, 48 years old was charged for shooting his own brother, Timothy Barry Bourke on the 4th of October, 2009.  He said that he only shot his brother in an act of mercy because he believes that he is already dead.  Their sister also attested on the claim of Bourke.

David John Bourke, carried the remains of his brother in a car, covered it with black sheet and escaped the crime scene.  He was able to evade the authorities for 2 days.  While he was trying to escape justice, he allegedly shot a farm worker in its shoulder.  He denied on the court that he intended to kill the farm worker.

Bourke said that his brother has been pleading him for several months to kill him so he would be able to join their mothers in the afterlife.

Karen Bryan, their sister told the court that the depression of their brother has been uncontrollable ever since their mother passed away.  She said:

"The spark had gone out of his eyes. He had just given up, given up hope. Timothy got to be like a walking zombie before it happened; it was like he had died. He was just a walking skeleton with no life, no spark left in him," 

They also said that they tried to seek for medical help but they were turned away.  They also described Timothy as manipulative and would have the ability to put something on your mind and act on it.

Their father told the court that he felt guilty that he wasn’t able to do anything to help their ailing son.  He said:

"Unfortunately, at the end of the day we didn't get the help. Timothy never got the help that he was entitled to. At the same time, I would say if anybody's guilty it would be me because I was looking at Timothy. I wasn't considering that he was affecting David."