The tragic story of the murder of Elvira Burnson took another,
hopefully final, twist last week with the sentencing of Robert
Beckwith in Santa Cruz County Superior Court.
The tragic story of the murder of Elvira Burnson took another, hopefully final, twist last week with the sentencing of Robert Beckwith in Santa Cruz County Superior Court.
Beckwith, 45, was originally charged with first-degree murder in the case, along with his girlfriend Paula Burnson, Elvira’s daughter.
According to all reports, Elvira Burnson, a retired schoolteacher, was a kind, gentle human being. Her brutal murder shocked the Gilroy community where she and her late husband, Charlie, were well-known and well-loved.
Paula Burnson’s suicide in jail made the prosecution’s case much weaker, and Beckwith accepted a plea deal in which he pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to nine years in state prison. He could be eligible for parole in less than six years.
Had he been convicted of first-degree murder, Beckwith could have been sentenced to life in state prison.
The whole situation is deeply upsetting to those who knew and loved Elvira Burnson. It’s easy to empathize with their frustration. A wonderful woman is gone, and nine years in prison doesn’t feel like justice. But we can at least hope it’s the end of the long, sordid tale.
Then, those who were privileged to know Elvira Burnson can turn to the positive impact her life will have for generations, no matter how tragically it ended.
Whatever Robert Beckwith’s role in Elvira Burnson’s demise, no matter what part he played in the tragic choices her only child, Paula, made, he cannot erase the good Elvira did with the time she had.
She taught hundreds – perhaps thousands – of Gilroy elementary school children. After she retired, she founded an English-as-second-language program at the United Methodist Church. That program continues to help immigrants today.
The disposition of Beckwith’s case is a bitter disappointment. But the best way to honor Elvira Beckwith’s memory is to remember the good her life accomplished. Supporting our public schools and the UMC’s ESL program with our time and money would be the ultimate show of respect for Elvira Burnson.
