P. v. Burgess CA4/1
Jane and Burgess had been in an on-and-off romantic relationship since 2010. They married in April 2018 and were still married at the time of trial in February 2020. Between March and July 2019, they were separated but trying to get back together. Jane lived in a two-story townhome with her five children: S. (age 12), R. (age nine), A. (age eight), B. (age six), and J. (age three). Burgess had moved out and had not lived in the townhome since March 2019.
At around 8:00 a.m. on July 4, 2019, Jane and six-year-old B. were asleep in Jane’s upstairs bedroom. Jane was awakened by Burgess yelling at B. to get up and clean her room. Burgess had come into the house uninvited and unannounced, and Jane did not know how he got in. When Jane sat up in bed, she could see Burgess “down the hall . . . yelling at [B.] to clean her room.” Burgess “physically” but not “forcefully” took B. to her room, while the child was “groggy” and “disoriented” from still being “half-asleep.
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