FLORISSANT, Mo. – A mother fighting for answers in her son’s death gets results after nearly two years.
A once goofy, athletic, fun-loving teen, Shayne Burrow died in December 2022. He was 15.
“He could go in a room, in a crowd, not knowing anybody, and leave with 10 friends,” Shena Burrow, Shayne’s mother, said.
Known for his antics around the house, the last two years with Shayne gone have been quiet for Shena Burrow.
“I should still be a mom right now and all of the sudden, I’m not,” she said.
Shayne went missing from school in University City in 2022. Police found him four days later. The medical examiner issued a report saying Shayne died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head – a suicide.
Shena Burrow hired a private investigator to comb through the evidence.
“He had no residue on his hands. There was no shell casing. He was shot on the right side and the gun was 15 inches away from his body on the left side,” she said.
There was also no DNA testing on the gun. The private investigator wrote in his conclusion, “Evidence collected and tested in this investigation highly suggest that victim Burrow was not in possession of a firearm prior to the fatal gunshot.”
After Shena shared the findings with the medical examiner, he issued a new report. Instead of the cause of death being a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound, the new report now reads, “gunshot wound of undetermined means.”
Where it once said the manner of death was a suicide, the new report now says, “undetermined.”
“That took a whole lot of relief off me and my whole family because we couldn’t quite understand. He was so happy,” Shena said.
FOX 2 reached out to the University City Police Department. Chief Larry Hampton said the case remains closed.
In a written statement, he said, “It remains unclear whether Mr. Burrow’s death as the result of a suicide or an accidental self-inflicted discharge. The case is not classified as a homicide, and no additional suspicious factors or foul play indicators could be identified.”
Chief Hampton sent his condolences to the Burrow family. Even with the case still closed, Shena has found comfort in the new findings.
“I take him to school. I pick him up from school. I take him to football. I pick him up from football. That’s a whole lot of togetherness to miss that big part. So, when they took that off, it took like a whole lot of relief off of me,” she said.
Now she wants to make sure others know about the change, too.
