On June 4, 1990, 48-year-old Marlene Burns died after a violent domestic altercation at her home with her boyfriend and roommate, Tony Alvin Ables. Neighbors called police during the disturbance; witnesses said they heard the fight and saw Ables leave the apartment wiping blood from his hands. Officers found Burns severely injured. Witnesses reported she had been pushed down the stairs and then beaten and kicked, injuries that proved fatal.

Ables, born December 28, 1954, was arrested at the scene, held without bail at the Pinellas County jail, and charged with first-degree murder. He was convicted in early June 1990 and initially sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted to life imprisonment on grounds related to his mental health. Ables has a long criminal history, including a 1971 conviction for a 1970 robbery that resulted in a death, and he has been linked by DNA to other killings; investigators have said he remains a suspect in additional unsolved homicides.

Did anyone in the community know Marlene Burns or have information about her last days and the people she associated with?