By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Quentin Lamar Burgess pleaded guilty Thursday (Nov. 20) in Fluvanna County Circuit Court to one count of second-degree murder just over two years after the death of his aunt, Carolyn Grooms of Kents Store.
Burgess was scheduled to stand trial before Circuit Court Judge David M. Barredo, but he entered a plea agreement shortly before court convened.
Burgess’s guilt was never in dispute. At issue was his mental state at the time of the killing.
Fluvanna County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jeffrey W. Haislip told Barredo the prosecution was prepared to show that Burgess killed Grooms early on Oct. 6, 2023, at her home on Ferncliff Farms Lane. Burgess lived with his aunt.
Haislip described the 57-year-old Grooms as a “strong, wonderful woman” who had raised her nephew from birth.
Family members told prosecutors that Burgess, now 26, had long been prone to sudden outbursts of violence that intensified as he got older.
Over time, they said, Grooms grew increasingly afraid of her nephew and confided that she sometimes woke to find him standing over her “like she had done something wrong.” She had started locking her bedroom door at night.
On Oct. 5, 2023, she called deputies seeking a psychiatric evaluation for Burgess. After speaking with him for more than half an hour, deputies reported that he made no threats and did not appear to be a danger to himself or others. He declined their offer to help him leave the home that night.
The next morning, co-workers grew concerned when Grooms failed to show up for their carpool. Later that morning, friends and family entered the home and found Burgess, his hands and shirt covered in blood, standing over Grooms’s body.
“She’s in a better place,” he said, according to their account of the scene.
Despite nearly an hour of CPR, Grooms was pronounced dead at the scene.
After deputies took him into custody, Burgess said, “She knows what she did.”
He later told investigators that he left his bedroom around 5 a.m. just as Grooms was coming out of hers across the hall. He said she looked frightened and ran down the hallway, which angered him. Burgess said he grabbed her by the neck and pushed her to the floor, then picked up an iron lying nearby and struck her in the head.
An autopsy confirmed that Grooms had a fractured neck and died from blunt force trauma to the skull.
Defense attorney Anthony Martin said the plea agreement was “a compromise” that benefited all parties. Burgess, he said, had struggled with mental illness for many years and was diagnosed with schizophrenia at Central State Hospital while awaiting trial.
Experts have long emphasized that most schizophrenics are not violent; however, in a small number of cases, untreated or severe psychosis can play a role in acts of violence, including some homicides.
Martin said he had planned to argue that Burgess was not guilty by reason of insanity, but “there was some evidence he knew what he did was wrong.” He added that second-degree murder was a fair compromise, as the killing did not appear to be premeditated.
Haislip said the Grooms family agreed to the plea deal, which removed the fear that he would be found not guilty by reason of insanity and ensured he would serve time for the crime.
He told the judge that the commonwealth did not dispute Burgess’s mental illness, but added that Burgess had never shown any remorse for the crime.
By accepting the plea, Burgess could face between five and 40 years in prison.
Barredo accepted the plea agreement and ordered a presentence report. Burgess is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 19 for sentencing.
