MUNCIE IN — A Muncie man on Tuesday, June 2, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his cousin.
Kenneth Ray Burden, 59, was charged with murder in the January 2022 slaying of 52-year-old Timothy Lee Hahn.
At the conclusion of a two-day bench trial —in which a judge, not a jury, renders a verdict — Judge John Feick found Burden guilty of the lesser charge, a Level 2 felony carrying up to 30 years in prison.
“In this case, the only person who knows what happened is the defendant,” Feick said. The judge said there was some indication of provocation in the shooting.
A witness told police the men arrived at the same home, in the 1500 block of South Rochester Avenue, a few minutes apart.
Hahn reportedly shoved Burden off a porch, authorities said, and a short time later, Burden shot Hahn in the chest with a handgun.
Emergency personnel found the victim outside and tried to resuscitate him. He was declared dead after being placed in an ambulance.
Deputy prosecutors Michael Bozoian and Lexi Starost told the judge there was no indication Hahn was continuing to menace his cousin at the time he was gunned down.
Burden was “pissed at (Hahn) because the victim pushed him,” Bozoian said.
Defense attorney Robert Summerfield maintained Burden had acted in self defense.
“I do believe there’s no question this occurred without any fault from my client,” Summerfield told the judge., “My client did not know if Tim was armed.”
Witnesses said Hahn and Burden had been feuding in the weeks before the homicide. After a gunshot was fired — with the bullet striking Hahn in the heart — Burden fled on foot.
In Indiana, a murder conviction carries a maximum 65-year sentence.
Hahn will be sentenced for the voluntary manslaughter conviction on July 1.
Judge Feick took under advisement a request by prosecutors that Burden be declared a habitual offender, a status that could add to the length of his prison term.
According to court records, Burden has at least four convictions for burglary and one for armed robbery,
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie man found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in cousin’s slaying
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
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