HARRISBURG, Ill. (AP) – A southern Illinois doctor convicted of killing his estranged wife and burning her body has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. Brian Burns was sentenced Tuesday by Saline County Circuit Judge Walden Morris, who called the 61-year-old defendant “a danger to society.” Carla Burns worked as a nurse as well as a professor at Southeastern Illinois College. Prosecutors contended Burns decided to kill his 49-year-old wife in 2016 because he was going to take a financial hit if she filed a separate tax return during their divorce proceedings. Burn’s sentence will be served consecutively with a five-year sentence for the charge of concealment of a homicidal death.
