Parents of slain McMinn County woman testify at sentencing that she was family's "protector"

Nov. 21--ATHENS, Tenn. -- Jurors who convicted Joseph Wielzen on Wednesday of rape and murder in the 2017 slaying of 18-year-old Kelsey N. Burnette convened Thursday to determine whether he will serve a life sentence with or without parole during a hearing in McMinn County, Tennessee, Criminal Court.

By 12:30 p.m. Thursday, both the state and defense had rested their cases and the jury was released for lunch so they can reconvene at 1:30 p.m. for closing statements.

Wielzen, 19, was convicted late Wednesday of first-degree felony murder and rape in Burnette's death. "Felony murder" is a count of murder that occurs during the commission of another felony crime, in this case, aggravated rape.

In Tennessee, a life sentence is 51 years. If he served the entire term, Wielzen would be around 70 years old.

Usually the judge determines a life sentence but officials from the 10th Judicial District Attorneys Office are seeking enhanced sentencing -- no possibility of parole -- so the jury must weigh mitigating and enhancing factors in ordering Wielzen's sentence. The process is similar to the penalty phase of a capital murder case, officials say.

On Thursday, the state put on just two witnesses, the victim's parents -- David and Virginia "Sissy" Burnette -- cross examined by Wielzen's attorneys, the father and son team of Bill and Andrew Brown, respectively. The state is represented by District Attorney General Stephen Crump and assistant district attorneys Paul Moyle and Coty Wamp.

Under direct examination by Crump, the victim's mother said through tears that her daughter was the family's "backbone," and "protector."

"She had a unique giggle and when she'd start you couldn't help but giggle with her," Burnette said. The loss has left lingering scars, she said.

"Since we lost her, no one wants to talk about her memories," Sissy Burnette said. She told jurors that because of her daugher's murder, she'd never see her on her wedding day or when she became a mother. Kesley Burnette was robbed of her dreams, Sissy Burnette said.

David Burnette testfied his daughter was "kind" and "gentle," and would "give anyone the shirt off her back."

"She was very intelligent for as young as she was," he said. David Burnette said the loss has impacted the entire family and his marriage.

Wielzen's attorneys put on five witnesses to testify on mitigating factors, starting with Perry Wielzen, the defendant's father.

Perry Wielzen, born in Europe, said his son was the caretaker in the family who was led astray by his mother after she became addicted to drugs and began doing drugs with her young son.

Eventually, she left the family and now is imprisoned, according to testimony.

Perry Wielzen testified that he struggled to stay employed in Florida and when he moved to Tennessee, and that relied on Joseph Wielzen to care for his three siblings when the defendant was as young as 6 years old.

"Joseph was the one that basically had to pick up the slack in the house," Perry Wielzen said with a heavy, but understandable accent. "He was the one basically I had to rely on to help me, to be the man of the house."

"He had no childhood, basically," he said.

Perry Wielzen told jurors he'd never seen his son be abusive to women.

"Not once have I seen him disrespect anyone of his female friends," he said. "Not once has he ever done something like that.

"I'm not just saying that because he's my son. I know who he is," Perry Wielzen said.

Wielzen was 17 at the time of the crime but was tried as an adult after his charges were transferred from juvenile court in September 2018. Because of the transfer, the state couldn't seek the death penalty, but can seek the longest possible sentence possible under state law, prosecutors said.

After her disappearance on June 30, 2017, or July 1, 2017, after a party at a home at 108 Athens Pike in Etowah, Tennessee, Burnette's body was found July 4, 2017, stuffed into a garbage can in a wooded area in downtown Etowah.

Burnette graduated from McMinn Central High School a couple of months before her death and worked at the local McDonald's restaurant. She was reported missing by her family on July 1, 2017. Wielzen was arrested in June 2018 and indicted in July.

Jury selection began Nov. 12 in the case. The state rested Tuesday after the testimony of two forensic experts, while the defense rested Wednesday.

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.

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