Wife Convicted of Killing Man Found in Potting Soil
A jury convicted a 31-year-old San Dimas woman on Friday of second-degree murder in the 1996 shooting of her husband, whose body was found stuffed in potting soil in an Upland storage unit.
Darlene Bourk was found guilty of killing Richard Bourk, 27, in what both the prosecutor and defense lawyer called one of the most bizarre cases either had ever tried.
Darlene Bourk was arrested last year after the decomposing body of her husband was found in a box that had been in a locker for nearly three years.
Bourk’s lawyer, James Epstein, argued that Richard Bourk was murdered by a drug dealer. After finding her husband dead, Bourk hid his body out of fear she would be accused of the murder, Epstein contended.
“Obviously, from the ruling, the jury didn’t buy her story,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Peel.
Judge Gerard Brown scheduled sentencing for Sept. 1. She could receive 25 years to life in prison.
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