Free Republic

Family, friends gather to remember Lily Burk The ceremony was intended as 'something to honor such a creative soul.' The 17-year-old Oakwood student was killed last month. By Corina Knoll and Margot Roosevelt August 9, 2009 On a hill overlooking a misty downtown skyline, hundreds gathered in the afternoon sun today to celebrate the life of Lily Burk, cut short by a brutal murder last month. Students from Oakwood School, where the 17-year-old Burk was a fun-loving and academically successful senior, spread blankets beside a white canopy shading hundreds of folding chairs in Bardsdall Art Park. Programs were handed out...

Teen found slain in downtown L.A. [Pic in URL of Defendant in Court] Charles Samuel, 50, appeared in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday. He is charged with one count each of murder, kidnapping to commit robbery, second-degree robbery and attempted first-degree automated teller machine robbery. Samuel is accused of killing Lily Burk, 17, who was abducted from the Wilshire area Friday afternoon. Her body was found in her car early Saturday near Alameda and 5th streets downtown. The arraignment was continued.

Lily Burk's neck was slashed, coroner says It's not yet clear whether the wound was the main cause of the 17-year-old's death. A 50-year-old transient has been arrested in the slaying. Charlie Samuel has a history of violence and drugs. By Ari B. Bloomekatz, Richard Winton and Joel Rubin July 28, 2009 The attacker who killed 17-year-old Lily Burk slashed her neck, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's report. It was unclear from the report if the wound was the main cause of the girl's death. A spokesman for the coroner's office could not be reached for comment. Police...

A transient accused in the slaying of 17-year-old Lily Burk was charged today with capital murder, kidnapping and two counts of robbery. [Updated at 2:51 p.m.: Charles Samuel, 50, appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court today with his attorney. His arraignment was postponed for three weeks.] The Los Angeles County Dist. Atty.'s Office said it will determine at a later point whether to seek the death penalty. Police detectives arrested 50-year-old Charlie Samuel in connection with Burk's death. They allege that he kidnapped her near the Southwestern University College of Law on Friday afternoon and killed her after unsuccessfully trying...

Lily Burk and Charles Samuel walked in separate worlds. Burk was a bright, bookish 17-year-old, whose future was ahead of her. After a summer in which she was to appear on stage as the lead in a play and volunteer at a skid row needle exchange program, she was to have started her final year of high school. Samuel, 50, had been in and out of prisons for decades. He was a transient with a long record of criminal activities and drug abuse. Friday, on a hot, bright afternoon, chance brought the two together on a quiet, tree-lined street.

Girl, 17, found slain in car near downtown L.A. Lily Burk left home Friday afternoon and never returned. Police found her body the next morning and are investigating the death as a homicide. By Margot Roosevelt and Ruben Vives July 26, 2009 She was set to star this week in her high school's production of David Mamet's "The Boston Marriage." And she planned to volunteer helping the homeless this summer. Seventeen-year-old Lily Burk had a knack for writing and being funny, and while classmates at Oakwood School in North Hollywood carried backpacks, she lugged two canvas bags overstuffed with books,...