Prosecutor: Ronan Murder Motivated by Revenge

The Reading Memorial High School alumnus charged with was allegedly motivated by revenge, according to prosecutors.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Dunigan told Woburn Superior Court Monday that John Burke had been robbed in his Revere apartment in April and came to believe that had committed, arranged or been involved the crime.

He was so convinced that Junta had been behind the crime, Dunigan said, that ”the night before the homicide in this case… he appeared to be following Quinlan Junta.”

Some time in the next 24 hours, though, she said, he apparently became convinced that Ronan had been involved.

The following day, she said, it appears that Burke traveled to Ronan’s home under the guise of purchasing Percocet and fired the three shots that killed the .

She told the court that the investigation found the shots had struck Ronan once in the back of the head, once in the back of the neck and once in the left side of the chest.

The investigation also found latex gloves which tested positive for gunshot residue in the vehicle that Burke had been using, Dunigan said.

Following her presentation, the court granted Dunigan’s request that Burke be held without bail while awaiting trial.

Tim Flaherty, Burke’s attorney, argued that Burke was not a flight risk as he had strong connections to the Reading area, but the court was not swayed.

Burke will next visit the court on Dec. 12 for a pretrial conference.