BURBANK : Man Denies Charges That He Killed 2
A Burbank man suspected of killing two women and injuring two others in a shooting spree at a neighbor’s house last month pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder charges.
Thomas Paul Humenik, 25, pleaded innocent to two counts of murder with the special circumstance of multiple murder and two counts of attempted murder. A preliminary hearing was set for July 17 in Burbank Municipal Court.
Humenik allegedly shot and killed his neighbor, Merle Ester Boyd, 73, and her friend, Sheila Iris Young, 45, on May 20, shortly after he was convicted of misdemeanor charges stemming from a dispute with Boyd’s husband. He also is charged with shooting Geraldine Correll, 70, in the shoulder and injuring Elfriede Brauchle, 48, who was hit by flying glass caused by gunfire.
Humenik allegedly burst into Boyd’s home, which is next door to the house where he lived in the 2800 block of North Keystone Street, after he was sentenced earlier that day to three years probation and fined $810 for striking Jack Donald Boyd, 75. Humenik and Boyd had argued on Jan. 3, ostensibly over Boyd’s trimming a rose bush that borders the two yards.
Humenik initially fled the scene after the shooting, but turned himself in to police two days later. He is being held without bail.
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