Rock Springs, Wyoming — A long-haul trucker from Ogden, Utah, arrested Wednesday in Clearfield, Utah, is suspected in the rape of nine women over a 30-year period in Utah and Wyoming.
DNA allegedly links Mark Douglas Burns, 69, to cold-case rapes that occurred in Rock Springs, Wyoming, in 1991; Riverdale City, Utah, in 1992; Ogden, Utah, in 1993; Clearfield, Utah, in 1994 and 1995; Laramie, Wyoming, in 1996; Layton, Utah, in 1997, and two more cases reported in Clearfield in 2000 and 2001, according to a Clearfield City Police Department press release.
The Clearfield Police arrested Burns after a years-long investigation using familial matching DNA samples in collaboration with a true-crime TV show, the press release stated.
Davis County Attorney’s Office has filed 17 first-degree felony charges against Burns, including eight counts of aggravated sexual assault, six counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated burglary and one count of aggravated robbery.
The press release described Burns as a “serial rapist.”
“The sexual assaults were incomprehensible, brutal, and methodical attack on females. In addition, family members were forced to watch the violent and repeated attacks,” the police stated. “These sexual assaults have caused a tremendous amount of pain and grief with all victims and family members. Because of the grievous and brutal nature of these crimes, detectives believe there are more victims and do not believe Mr. Burns suddenly stopped committing such heinous crimes since 2001.”
Laramie and Rock Springs police departments are expected to file additional charges stemming from the rapes that took place in those jurisdictions, according to the press release.
The Rock Springs Connection
On Sept. 25, Burns was arrested in Utah as a result of an ongoing investigation by investigators with the Rock Springs, Laramie, Layton, Utah, Ogden, Utah, Riverdale, Utah, and Clearfield, Utah, police departments.
In June of 1991, the family of a juvenile female in Rock Springs reported that an unknown man crawled through the girls’ bedroom window and forcibly raped the girl at gunpoint. After the assault was complete, the man left through the same window and ran away. At that time there were few leads developed; however, physical evidence including suspected semen was found at the scene. At that time DNA processing was in its infancy and only a blood type of the suspect was immediately identified.
In 2007 the semen sample was re-examined by the Wyoming State Crime Lab, and a DNA profile was identified and entered into the CODIS (Combined DNA Indexing System). Almost immediately, that profile was matched with two additional DNA profiles, one from Ogden, Utah, and the other from Clearfield, Utah, that took place in the 1990s and early 2000s.
A detective with RSPD made contact with investigators in those cases at which time an MO (Modus Operandi) was established and a Cold Case Task Force was unofficially formed.
The suspect in these cases was found to enter residences through unlocked windows or sliding glass doors during the night and awaken the victims. He would then bind them, blindfold them, and sexually assault them for between 15 minutes and two hours, often while other family members were present in the residence and sometimes even in the room. The suspect would then leave, often leaving little evidence other than biological evidence in the form of semen or saliva.
| Date | Time | Location | Victim Age | DNA / MO | Weapon Used |
| June 10th, 1991 | @ 2:00 AM | Rock Springs, WY | 14 | DNA Hit | Handgun |
| July 23rd, 1993 | @3:40 AM | Ogden, UT | 51 | DNA Hit | Knife |
| Feb. 14th, 1994 | @ 1:30 AM | Clearfield, UT | Unknown | DNA Hit | Knife |
| March 12th, 1995 | @ Midnight | Clearfield, UT | 52 | DNA Hit | Gun/Knife |
| May 19th, 1996 | @ 1:45 AM | Laramie, WY | 23 | DNA Hit | Unknown |
| July 1st, 1997 | @3:30 AM | Layton, UT | 22 | DNA Hit | Knife |
| July 29th, 2000 | @ 2:30 AM | Clearfield, UT | 29 | DNA Hit | Knife |
| May 22nd, 2001 | @ 1:43 AM | Clearfield, UT | 46 and 19 | DNA Hit (2) | Handgun |
Between 2007 and 2012, several more cases were entered into CODIS by other agencies and the following related cases were identified. As a result of those additional DNA hits, a Cold Case Task Force was organized and began follow-up on previously unknown information.
In 2015 the case was featured on the television program Cold Justice-Sex Crimes, when investigators spent two weeks going through available leads. A press conference led to over 200 new leads being developed that were followed up on. None of those leads led to identification of the suspect.
During that two week investigative session, the ninth case out of Riverdale, Utah, was found via VICAP, and a rushed DNA exam determined the suspect to be the same DNA contributor as the others.
| May 6th, 1992 | @ Midnight | Riverdale, UT | 11 | DNA Hit | Knife |
This would be identified as the youngest victim to date. A witness in that case observed a man leaving the apartment complex the girl lived in, in what he thought was a Pontiac Firebird.
As a result of the multiple DNA hits, that DNA Profile was provided to a Genealogy examiner who was able to determine a family line, and ultimately a male DNA profile of a man who lived in the Clearfield, Utah, area. A sample of that man’s DNA was obtained surreptitiously and processed.
The man’s DNA was not that of the suspect, but was close enough that the suspect family member could be tentatively identified by name, as Mark Douglas Burns. A sample of Burns’ DNA was obtained, also surreptitiously, and rushed to the Wyoming State Crime Lab where they were able to process and positively match within hours that DNA sample to the previously unknown suspect.
Investigators, now knowing the identity of the suspect then began follow up information, including tracking locations of where Burns had been over the past 28 years, his criminal history, and work history. After the preliminary information was complied, those investigators gathered in Clearfield, Utah, to observe and make contact with Burn at his residence on Sept. 25. Burns was arrested without incident.
This investigation is ongoing. Based on timelines and other information yet to be released, investigators believe Burns to have other victims. Multiple cases in the state of Utah have been reported with similar MOs, however DNA was not available for testing in those cases.
Anyone who knows Burns or who has any other information pertaining to him, please contact Sgt. Tim Robinson or the Detective Division at the Rock Springs Police Department.
If you live in another jurisdiction, please contact your local authorities. More information will be available as this case proceeds through the legal system, and all suspects are considered innocent, until proven guilty in a court of law.
