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Indianapolis man guilty in 2019 murder of woman found inside Fountain Square church

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INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man has been found guilty of murder in the November 2019 death of a woman who was found inside a Fountain Square church.

A Marion County judicial officer convicted Robert Burks on Monday of killing 58-year-old Julie Morey, according to online court records.

On Nov. 3, 2019, Morey was found unresponsive on a couch in the Religious Education Center building of St. Patrick Catholic Church.

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The Marion County Coroner’s Office determined Morey died from strangulation and multiple stab wounds.

During the investigation, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detectives learned Morey had recently filed a police report alleging Burks punched her in the face, causing her to develop black eyes, according to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.

A forensics expert found Burks’ DNA on Morey’s hands, face, neck and underneath her fingernails, the prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.

Burks will be sentenced on March 10.