Woman wants answers in death of son

Keith Paul

Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2000 | 11:39 a.m.

Janet Burton wants to know what happened leading up to her 19-year-old son's death aboard a Southwest Airlines flight to Utah, but federal investigators and prosecutors who have the information aren't revealing much.

"She keeps saying she just wants to know what happened to her boy," Kent Spence, a Jackson, Wyo., attorney representing the family, said. "We're getting second-hand information."

Burton's son, Jonathan, was killed by passengers who restrained him after he was accused of trying to break into the cockpit during an Aug. 11 flight from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Utah decided not to prosecute the case, saying passengers were acting in self-defense.

"We're only getting bits and pieces of what happened on the plane," Spence said. "We're only left to speculate, since we can't seem to get any information from the FBI or the U.S. Attorney's office."

Since Spence has no reports from the incident, he's left trying to find witnesses on his own.

FBI officials referred all question to the U.S. Attorney's office, which refused to release any information about the case.

"Normally we don't even confirm if we are investigating a case," said Melodie Rydalch, a U.S. Attorney's office spokeswoman. "It's against (U.S.) Department of Justice regulations to release investigative information."

Burton's autopsy results were released by Spence, who recounted the "bruising from head to his ankles" and choke marks around Burton's neck.

The coroner's report listed the cause of death as homicide from the "intentional actions by another individual or individuals," Spence said the report read.

But he disputes the claim that Burton went berserk on the plane and the need for up to eight passengers to restrain him during the flight.

"I've yet to see any information to show that he went berserk," Spence said. "A person who talked with a witness said a flight attendant got quite rude with him. All I can conclude is he was upset about the way he was being treated and wanted to speak to someone who had some authority."

All accounts from the FBI after Burton's death indicated a group of passengers had to subdue Burton as he was trying to kick in the cockpit's door during the flight.

Spence, who works with his father, Gerry Spence, a famed attorney who has defended such high-profile clients as Idaho separatist Randy Weaver and Imelda Marcos, said no decision has been made on whether a lawsuit will be filed against the airline or passengers.

Linda Rutherford, a Southwest Airlines spokeswoman, would not comment about specifics of the incident. In a prepared statement, she offered sympathies to the Burton family, but said Jonathan Burton's actions put the passengers' lives in danger.