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Boyfriend in Murder-Suicide Has History of Police Encounters

Posted at 5:18 PM, Jun 18, 2013
and last updated 2013-06-18 17:55:10-04

plainwell youtubePLAINWELL, Mich. — Robert Burnham-Pratt, the 24-year-old man who allegedly shot his girlfriend, 23-year-old Cassaundra Pell, early Tuesday morning before turning the gun on himself, has a documented history of conflicts with police.

Burnham-Pratt’s YouTube channel has two videos that show these encounters.  The first shows an encounter he had with Plainwell Public Safety after residents spotted him openly carrying a shotgun in town.

“Just exercising rights, Mr. Pell, Officer Pell,” Pratt said to Officer James Pell, the father of Cassaundra Pell, in the video.

The second video, recorded by an unidentified female, shows Burnham-Pratt on camera in a much more intense encounter with officials.  Plainwell Detective John Varley accuses Pratt of using a baseball bat to hit a car and trying to kick in the door of a house.

“You’re having some type of emotional issue right now,” Varley tells him in the video. “We’re here to help you.”

Later in the video, as the police leave, Pratt tells them, “I appreciate the Hitler Nazi stuff.”

DISCLAIMER: The below video contains profanity.