More than four years after Durham club promoter Shawn Burton disappeared, the man prosecutors say is responsible is finally facing a jury.
Darrius Lavale Tyson, 34, went on trial this week in Durham, accused of killing Burton, 33, who was last seen on March 22, 2022. Prosecutors say surveillance footage, phone records and DNA link Tyson to Burton’s disappearance. Authorities have not recovered Burton’s body, but his truck turned up later on railroad tracks in the Soul City area of Warren County, a detail that has loomed large over the case.
In opening statements, prosecutors sketched out a tight timeline they say will show how Burton vanished. Jurors are expected to see doorbell video of Burton leaving a Front Street apartment with people who appeared to be armed, as well as a white Kia that followed his truck. Investigators say DNA from a nearby duplex, Burton’s truck and a rented Kia all matched Burton, and phone records allegedly show a flurry of calls in a short window from a number tied to Tyson. That evidence, along with license-plate reader data, will form the backbone of the state’s case, according to The News & Observer.
Tyson’s attorney, Daniel Meier, urged jurors to focus not just on what the state shows them, but on what is missing. He argued that the Ring footage depicts calm behavior, not panic, that there is no clear evidence of a struggle, and that a delay in a 911 call undercuts the idea of a violent abduction. Meier said Tyson and Burton were friends and signaled that the defense will challenge how investigators interpreted the forensic hits, according to The News & Observer. Jury selection began June 29, and witnesses are expected to take the stand in the coming days.
How Investigators Say It Unfolded
Durham police first charged Tyson with kidnapping in May 2022, and a grand jury later indicted him on a count of first-degree murder in February 2023, officials said. Officers found Burton’s truck abandoned on railroad tracks in Warren County with blood inside and tracked the movements of three vehicles between Durham and Warren County, according to WRAL. Search-and-rescue dogs were taken to potential sites but did not find Burton.
Legal Context
Tyson is charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree kidnapping. A conviction for first-degree murder carries the state’s toughest penalties. Under North Carolina law, first-degree murder is a Class A felony that can result in a death sentence or life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the North Carolina General Statutes. Prosecutors say their case will rest largely on video, phone and DNA evidence, rather than on the recovery of a body.
Murder convictions without a recovered body are rare in North Carolina, but not unheard of. In one high-profile Wilmington case, detailed by WECT, prosecutors secured a conviction even though the victim’s remains were never found. Burton’s family has said they still have no real sense of closure and hope the trial will finally bring answers, as local outlets have previously reported.
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