UPDATE: New details of Burney murder released – Man arrested

March 25, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

BURNEY, Calif. — Shasta County Sheriff’s officials who last Sunday confirmed exclusively to SCNS that a murder investigation was underway after the beating death of a Burney man have announced that a suspect has been identified and arrested in the ongoing investigation.

The victim, 61-year-old, Mark Anderson, who was affiliated with the Burney Church of Christ as a caretaker and “unofficial pastor”, was found brutally beaten and critically injured in a trailer behind the church building on March 8. He had lingered in critical condition for ten days before passing away on Thursday, March 18.

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On Monday, March 8, at 8:58 p.m., deputies from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Burney Station were dispatched to the rear parking lot of the church, located at 37134 Superior Avenue, to investigate reports of an assault, Shasta County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit Sergeant Kyle Wallace said yesterday in a press release.

When deputies arrived, they located the victim in a travel trailer with injuries that appeared
to have been caused by an assault, Wallace explained.

Donald Marquez, 43, (L) who had moved to Burney just a few months ago from Glendale, Arizona, has been arrested in the murder investigation of Burney resident Mark Anderson, 61 (R). Although allegations of child molestation and drug abuse were leveled against Anderson on social media just three days before the brutal attack that led to his death, officials have not released any known motive for the murder.

Anderson was rushed to a local hospital before being admitted into Mercy Medical Center in Redding; where he passed away ten days later on March 18.

Upon Anderson’s death, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit was contacted and began
investigating the assault as a homicide.

“During the investigation, detectives learned Donald Joseph Marquez, 43 years old, from Glendale, Arizona may have been involved in the assault,” explained Wallace.

According to Wallace, detectives learned Marquez had only lived in the Burney area for seven months and had become acquaintances with Anderson about a month before the victim’s murder.

The investigation that led to a murder charge against David Marquez began March 8, after Mark Anderson was discovered brutally beaten inside a travel trailer parked behind the Burney Church of Christ, where the victim was reported to be a caretaker and unofficial pastor. Anderson lingered in critical condition for ten days before succumbing to his injuries and passing away.

Based on their investigation, on March 23, MCU detectives and other officials served a search warrant at a Burney home in the 20000 block of Sugar Pine Avenue, where Marquez was contacted and detained.

After providing a statement to MCU detectives, officials arrested Marquez and he was later booked into Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Online jail records indicate Marquez remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail or bond.

SEE ORIGINAL RELATED STORY: BREAKING: Homicide investigation underway after Burney man’s death

Although social media allegations of child molestation and drug abuse were leveled against Anderson in early February and then reposted again on March 5, just three days before his murder, Wallace would not speculate about what may have led to Anderson’s brutal murder; saying, “No further details about the circumstances or motive regarding the assault will be released.”

Anyone with additional information about this investigation is encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at (530) 245-6135 or by email. Callers can refer to incident file number 21S007801 and can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.