TW: Gore, death

The true story behind August Burks, the boy found dead in Massachusetts town

By Claudia Morrison, CNN

Published 6:36 AM EST, Fri August 25, 2024

(CNN) - Authorities are wrapping up their investigation revolving around the body identified as August Burks, a boy aged 9 after he was discovered dead in a reservoir.

The body was discovered floating in one of the reservoirs by a waterwork employee who has asked not to be named, as released by the Madison Sheriff Station.

Law enforcement quickly responded to the 911 call made at around 10:21 AM Saturday.

"Officers observed a severely mutilated body, lying face down in the reservoir. Later, through much testing, we were able to identify it as a boy who lived in the town. The family was brought in and it has been confirmed. We put a suspect under custody, and after forensics tests, we have confirmed a prosecutor. All our thoughts and prayers shall go out to the family, and we hope to have caught the person behind all of this," the sheriff has stated.

A bloodied weapon was discovered in a tree around 2:34 PM Sunday, and upon arrival, it was removed and taken to a lab for forensic investigation.

The hiker who found it was questioned about the object before being released.

After a thorough investigation, the DNA found on the axe matched the hikers.

The motive has been unclear, but we know that he seems to have turned himself in from the guilt.

He is expected in court soon, charged with aggravated assault, first-degree murder, and failure to properly dispose of a human body.

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August 19, 2024

7:30 AM
Stupid parents. So, what if I punched Alex? That jerk had it coming, and yeah, I may have broken his nose, but his stupid nose will heal. Of course, he's portrayed as a "poor little innocent angel", and no one will look past what I did to him. No one cares about the fact that he engaged in the fight. No one cares that he stole my pocket money and threatened to drown my dog if I tried to stand up to him. No one cares about all the previous times when he had broken my things, made fun of my friends or me, or worst of all, publicly humiliated me in front of practically the entire grade.

That stupid threat, along with the fact that the jerk stole from me made a bad day even worse, so I finally blew. Earlier, my dog, Lucy had gone and puked all over my bed. Of course, I loved that dog, but it was a horrible start to my morning. Then, around noon, she did it again, this time in the kitchen. Worried, my mom took her to the clinic, and Lucy was diagnosed with gastritis. I guess the threat toward her life just put me on edge along with the previous events.

When Alex stepped into the picture, I cracked and finally punched him. I didn't mean to land a blow that hard, and I certainly didn't intentionally try to break his nose, but it just happened. Probably due to dumb luck, and football. For once, having a strong arm came in handy.

Turns out the kid wasn't so strong underneath the tough front. He almost immediately broke into tears and ran off. Thankfully, he dropped my money, so I was able to get myself an ice cream. I was finally enjoying myself, especially with Alex out of the picture. Of course, nothing could last. That stupid tattletale went home and told his mommy about what happened.

So, when I arrived home a few hours later, I was met with my very angry mother at the door. A bad day turned into an even worse day. And, of course, I wasn't completely aware of what had happened, and why she was so irate. Assuming I was playing dumb, she practically dragged me into the living room, plopped me down on the couch, and gave me a huge lecture.

As I said, at first, I had no idea what I was in for. Acting as if I wasn't aware of the current situation seemed to turn my mom's anger up another level. She must have shouted at me for a half hour saying "Punching another kid isn't right", "I had no right to do it", and "I should reconsider what I had done". Every single time I tried to tell her what had happened, she immediately shushed me, and it just seemed to add even more fuel to her scolding.

Once my dad came home, he was informed of what had happened, and I got another scolding from him, and then, unanimously, the two of them decided it would be a great idea to give me a grounding for the weekend, so I had time to "reflect on what I had done". As well as not being able to go outside and meet my friends, all technology would be shut off in the house except for my parent's devices so they could do work.

So now, what was I supposed to do? Die of boredom with communication with my friends? I was already out of my mind after a day of this, so early that morning, before my parents had gotten up, I was able to escape. Crawling out of my window onto the roof, I went around the house until finding the location I wanted. There was a big tree that hugged our roof, and even though I had never attempted this before, I believed it would be easy enough to crawl onto a branch and shimmy my way down from there. And, even if I fell, it wasn't that far of a fall, especially with the ground soft from the rain that had fallen the previous day.

I would probably get away with a bruised leg if even that. So, I slowly inched my way across the branch until coming in contact with the base of the tree where I was able to easily get down to ground level. And then, finally, I was free. Internally congratulating myself, I quickly decided to dart out of sight from my house before deciding what to do next. For once, I had freedom for myself and could do whatever I wanted. I was done being stuck in that house, and no one would be able to tell me what to do out here. Glancing up and down the street, I saw the thick woodlands surrounding our neighborhood, and an idea formed in my mind. In the woods, there would be no one around. No one would be able to find me, and for all I cared, I could be out the entire day.

Practically bouncing with excitement, I instantly took off into the woods. The forest was great. Once you were in them, they were so big that no one could find you. No matter how hard they tried, it would be practically impossible to find me in the sticks. I would be found only when I wanted to be found.

When I first entered, I ran down a path until I ran out of energy and slowed to a walk. At this hour, there wasn't any activity yet, but that was okay. Not entirely sure where I wanted to go, I decided it would be a good idea to set up a fort. And, where else than the reservoir? People always set up forts near water. There were many tactical advantages surrounding it, there would be interesting building materials, and a cool lookout would be set for my fort. Better than the plain old forest anyway.

It was a short walk into the woods until I reached the first reservoir, but that was okay. I guess. The woods were eerily silent, and it seemed that no one felt like coming out here. That was fine.

The woods were, as I can describe it, green. They looked green and smelled green, and frankly, I thought it was disgusting. Fresh buds and blooms had coated the entire forest in fresh life, and they were reeking their stench everywhere. Birds tittered annoyingly, exchanging calls left and right. A baby hare ran across the path to my left and disappeared into the shrubs on my right. Looking there, I saw a fresh patch of checkerberries. Filled with bliss, I quickly reached for a handful and popped it into my mouth. Unfortunately, my mother always forced me to go into the woods but had shown me edible plants.

It was a little late for checkerberries, but I didn't mind. The almost bitter, but not-quite taste filled my mouth, and I was filled with... happiness for some reason. I guess the berries sort of tasted good, and brought back a few good memories. Then, with a new leap of faith, I realized that this was like being lost in the woods, having to fend for myself. Like that Brian guy in Hatchet. The rest of the walk to the reservoir was filled with my fantasy of this.

After running away from my evil-monster parents, I was lost in the woods. But, this was okay. I was able to survive for myself and keep myself alive by building epic forts and eating wild edibles found in the forest. People would be frantically looking for me, but I would be living the life, and if I was ever returned to civilization, I would be considered as a hero. It would be... awesome.

I had trekked this trail before, and soon, the trees thinned to reveal a landbridge. I was planning to follow the edges of the reservoir until I found an ideal location, but the landbridge was always worth a look. Water surrounds it on both sides, and you could look to see the forested areas. Standing on it, I could imagine that I was in any time, in any place of the world.

It's prehistoric times, and I'm standing here thinking about if any potential food sources may be lurking in the woods. Sizing up my environment for its resources.

It's medieval times, and I'm on edge, watching for any enemies in the woods. Grasping my sword carefully, I'm surrounded by allies while we wait for a surprise attack.

Right now, I'm standing here, looking out to the woods, dreaming about the life I could have. Fighting bears and-

What is that, I thought as something in the water caught my eye.

Tearing my eyes away from the woods, I saw a dark shadow in the water. It seemed like it was rippling with waves, but there couldn't be waves here. The shadow would ebb in, then flow out rhythmically. But it seemed like it was growing. Every time it would go into the farther reservoir waters, it would start to spread out further each time.

A sense of fear started to spread up my body. That dark shadow wasn't right. I knew it wasn't right. I knew I should run. I should get out of these woods, and I should return to my home where my parents would be getting up around now. But, the woods now felt foreign, and I wasn't sure which direction was home.

I couldn't move. My body wasn't letting me as it had a battle with itself. Do I run? Do I try to figure out what that shadow was? The wind started howling around my ears, what started as a gentle breeze turned into what felt like winds conjured by a hurricane. And, the wind seemed to be speaking

"Touch it," a voice hissed out once. A second followed, and before long, an entire chorus of voices flew around my head, breaking into my mind and taking control. "Touch it. Touch it. Touch it," was whistled like a chant.

I fell to my knees, my hands over my ears trying to drown out the sound. I heard loud sobs convulse out of my mouth as tears slid down my face."Make it stop," I groaned, clawing at my ears to try to rid them of the noise. I huddled up in a ball and tried to put my hands over my eyes before seeing the bloodstained fingernails.

Another state of panic overtook me and I saw the red. Did I do this, I thought, horrified at the revelation that I could have hurt myself in this way. The screaming ensemble still ricocheted throughout my skull as I looked at the red-stained nails. Get it off, the thought started in my mind

"Get it off," I spoke, my voice barely above a whisper. "Get it off," my voice now chanting, joining those around me but in a different melody. "Get it off, get it off, get it off," I screamed, frenzied over the sight of it.

I ran to the water, tripping and rolling over the slope before I was at the water's edge. The shadow seemed to sense something, as it was flowing at a faster pace than before. It almost seemed exciting. I didn't care about the shadow. It was just the tree's reflection. I needed to get the blood out of my fingers.

I plunged my right hand into the waters but pulled it out as if I felt something had latched onto it. Looking at it, I saw the red had been removed from my fingernails, but why was it now flowing in small streams down my hand?

The moment I realized that my pinkie finger had been ripped out was the moment that something erupted out of the water. Paralyzed in fear, I looked at a dark mass spread out as tall as the trees themselves. Some sort of uneven clawed arms formed from its sides.

My mind seemed to catch up as I tried to shimmy back up the bank. Sometime, the voices had ended, and it was safe to retreat up to solid ground. I placed my right hand behind me but screamed and drew it back when my now stub of a finger connected to the earth.

My breathing began to come in shallow breaths as the shadow and I stared each other down. I-I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything except watch as one of those horrible irregular arms came down at me.

My eyes tracked it until it reached the tip of my chest as a searing pain, unlike anything I had ever felt before started as it moved down my torso. I wailed as I tried to lay back, and the pain was over. I opened my eyes, and in one second saw the shadow start to morph again, and it almost looked like it was sinking into the water once more. Next, I looked at my mutilated body.

Intestines hanging out of my body. I had never seen my ribcage before. Were my ribs really that sharp, and in my body my entire life? But the red. I saw the red. There was too much red. I had never seen so much before, in one place, coming out of one human.

I saw the red spilling from my body. Spilling into the grass below it and starting to leak into the waters.

"N-no," I said with one final breath, "Get it o-off."

With one last push, I was able to roll into the water. I felt my eyes flutter shut as they became submerged, but my mind was at peace, accepting its fate.

At the very least, I got the red off.

QOTC: The murderer's been revealed, but the motive has not. So, what do you think the shadow's motive is?