Police believe missing Gilbert woman killed

Police arrested a Mesa man Monday night on suspicion of kidnapping and raping a missing Gilbert woman, who police now believe is dead, court records show.

Police found 19-year-old Jackie Hartman’s ripped bloody shirt with gunshot holes in a trash bin outside Chandler Pointe Apartments, 3175 N. Price Road. Investigators also found the woman’s undergarments, purse and sandals in the trash bin but have not found Hartman.

Ex-convict Jonathan Ian Burns, 25, was the last person to see 19-year-old Jackie Hartman when she went missing early Sunday, police said. He is being held on $500,000 bond in Maricopa County’s Fourth Avenue Jail.

“We haven’t found a body, so there’s still some hope she might be alive,” said police Sgt. Andrew Duncan.

Cara Hartman, Jackie’s mother, cried on the phone Tuesday and said her family is still trying to hold onto some hope.

“That’s all we can do, right?” she said.

The mother said the family has passed out fliers “and will probably be passing out more.”

According to the probable cause statement used to file charges, Hartman was with Burns about 2 a.m. and was supposed to meet her sister, Randi, at 4:45 a.m. But Jackie Hartman never showed up.

Cell phone records show Burns left the Gilbert area about 6 a.m. and drove northbound on state Route 87 before disappearing for five hours.

“We have (his) truck,” Duncan said. “What we’re looking for help on is anyone who has seen it driving in the East Valley.”

The truck is a newer model red Ford F150 with an extended cab. No license plate information was available.

During interviews with police, Burns said he had sex with Hartman and dropped her off about 5 a.m. Police said they have evidence proving the sex was not consensual.

Burns, who worked at Hatfield-Reynolds Electric Co. in Phoenix, was an acquaintance of Hartman’s, court records show. It is unknown how the pair met.

On the gate outside Burns’ home near Baseline and Dobson roads, a gruesome sign provides a warning to visitors: “No Trespassing. Violators will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.”

Police said Burns’ criminal history raised red flags for detectives early on in the missing person case.

Court records show that in 1998, Burns burglarized his uncle’s Avondale home twice, stole property from another home and grafittied the walls and burned the carpet in an empty Phoenix house. He was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for the series of crimes.

Maricopa County Superior Court tacked additional time onto Burns’ sentence when we was caught with a homemade knife in the jail.

While in prison, Burns was disciplined 35 times for infractions ranging from sex acts to giving or receiving tattoos, escape and arson, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections’ Web site. He was released from prison on Aug. 8.

“I believe she had no idea what his intent was,” Duncan said. “We always have a plan for the worst case scenario, but we’re hoping for the best.”

Anyone with information in the case should call (480) 503-6500.

— Tribune writer Jill Redhage contributed to this report.