Daughter Was ‘More Than Just a Statistic,’ Victim's Stepmom Says

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A 30-year-old woman accused of shooting Amanda Burket about three years ago accepted a plea offer on Dec. 1 at Baltimore City Circuit Court.

Ashley Marie Thorne is charged in connection to an incident on Nov. 7, 2019, on the 4400 block of Fairhaven Avenue around 2:30 p.m. She is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of felony use of a firearm in a violent crime, and first-degree assault.

Thorne initially received a different plea offer of life, suspending all but 65 years, on June 15, but rejected it, and a trial date was set for Jan. 19, 2022.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the prosecution presented a new offer of life, suspending all but 30 years, and five years supervised probation for first-degree murder.

Defense attorney Janine Meckler accepted the offer on behalf of the defendant.

The prosecution then recalled the facts of the case.

On Nov. 7, 2019, Thorne’s boyfriend drove her to Burkett’s apartment so that Thorne could “take care of the situation,” the prosecution said. Thorne and her boyfriend wanted revenge because Thorne was robbed the night before at Burkett’s apartment and believed that other individuals had obtained her phone number. She started to receive calls from these individuals asking about drugs within a few hours.

Once Thorne arrived at Fairhaven Avenue, she saw Burkett’s friend in the stairwell and held him at gunpoint, forcing him into Burkett’s apartment. Once in the apartment, she pointed the gun at Burket and said, “You give names and numbers out.”

Thorne then fired the gun and shot Burkett in the head. Thorne ran past Burkett’s friend and ran away. Medics arrived shortly afterwards and Burkett was pronounced dead at the scene.

Some of Burkett’s family members wished to read a statement on the record during Wednesday’s proceedings. This included the victim’s cousin on the behalf of her father and her stepmother.

The cousin expressed Burkett’s father’s grief as the letter read, “You took my baby girl away from me,” and that, “You have changed our lives forever.” In the letter, he also stated that he forgave Thorne because he found God.

The victim’s stepmother expressed that she worries about how the victim’s three children will be able to process the loss of their mother. She also said that, “Amanda was more than just a statistic,” out of all of the Baltimore homicides that took place in 2019. Due to her belief in God, she too forgave Thorne for her actions.

Once these statements concluded, the defendant opted not to say anything before Judge Jeannie J. Hong.

Judge Hong accepted the agreed upon plea.

Daughter Was ‘More Than Just a Statistic,’ Victim’s Stepmom Says