Niskayuna man sentenced for Christmas Eve murder of wife

Lake George

Clifford Burns of Niskayuna was sentenced in Warren County Court Friday to 23 years to life, on a second-degree murder charge for the stabbing death of his estranged wife Patricia at her Lake Luzerne apartment last Christmas Eve.

Before the sentencing, the couple's daughters and Patricia Burns' 22-year-old daughter Megan Jenkins gave emotional statements about the impact of their mother's death. Jenkins was injured trying to protect her mother during the December incident.

Harley Burns said she has been living the life of an adult since her father stabbed her mother. "What's a 15-year-old girl supposed to do without her mother?" she asked. "You didn't think about your own children," she told her father.

"I lost my best friend," Autumn Burns said, speaking of her mother.

Jenkins said, "What Cliff really took from me that Christmas Eve was my heart."

Patricia Burns, 42, died of multiple stab wounds on Dec. 24. There is no question that Clifford Burns killed his wife that evening. Her family members said in court that she had been preparing a holiday dinner for herself and her daughters.

But Friday's hearing began with a question over Clifford Burns' intent, which is required for a murder charge.

Burns' attorney, Garfield Raymond of Queensbury, argued before Judge John S. Hall Jr. for his client's right to withdraw the guilty plea he entered in April, when he was represented by Wayne Smith of Schenectady. Burns argued in court papers that he had ineffective counsel and that he was incapable of entering an intelligent plea due to his emotional state following a meeting with his daughters after they had been coached by Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan to urge him to plead guilty.

The knife that killed Patricia Burns was not one brought by her estranged husband to the house, Raymond argued, but a knife owned by Patricia Burns. Clifford Burns was in an emotional state due to concerns over child support and an incident involving Patricia Burns' boyfriend, Raymond said.

Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan told a different story.

Clifford Burns was carrying a knife and dressed in camouflage when he arrived at Patricia Burns' apartment, Hogan said. She entered into evidence two items she said showed Clifford Burns' intent.

One was a note left in Clifford Burns' Niskayuna home on Christmas Eve, bequeathing his possessions to his daughters, as if he knew he wouldn't be back. Raymond argued that Burns left the note because he intended to violate an order of protection to see his daughters on the holiday and thought he would go to jail.

The second was a text message Clifford Burns sent to his daughter Harley on Dec. 22: "I have a special gift coming soon something for everyone to talk about and it will be hand delivered on foot not by car. ..."

Part of Harley's response was, "Get it together, I know what you think you want to do, and believe me that won't end well. The only reason you feel so bad is because of what happened between your parents, you haven't ever got the time to grieve."

Clifford Burns experienced unthinkable tragedy during his own childhood, according to newspaper reports. His father, James Burns, shot himself in 1984 after abducting Clifford's mother, Edythe, and shooting a police officer, ending years of domestic disputes at the family's Niskayuna home.

In addition to the sentence, Hall issued orders of protection permanently barring Clifford Burns from ever contacting Autumn Burns, Harley Burns and Megan Jenkins.

Harley and Autumn Burns cried when Hall detailed those orders. Clifford Burns argued with the judge over his right to see his children. Hall explained that Burns had lost all custodial rights, having committed "outrageous abuse of his children by murdering their mother. The judge said Autumn and Harley could apply to have the orders modified when they turn 18.

After the hearing, Raymond promised to appeal Hall's denial of Clifford Burns' guilty plea withdrawal.

chughes@timesunion.com • 518-454-5417 • @hughesclaire