More than three decades after a 10-year-old Maryland boy disappeared while riding his bike, a man who lived in his neighborhood has been charged with his murder.
George Burdynski Jr., who was “affectionately known as ‘Junior,’” vanished in Brentwood on May 24, 1993, the Prince George’s County Police Department noted in a news release on Thursday, September 17.
An extensive investigation revealed that the boy was sexually assaulted and killed by Joseph Lynch, who was also a Brentwood resident when Junior vanished.
Lynch, 61, previously served 12 years in prison for sexually assaulting several boys in Brentwood, Mount Rainier and Hyattsville the same year Junior went missing, according to police. He was released from prison in 2006.
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Some of the other children had been friends with Junior, The Washington Post reported.
Now, Lynch is charged with second-degree murder, second-degree rape, a second-degree sex offense and a third-degree sex offense in connection with Junior’s murder, according to authorities.
Police connected Lynch to Junior’s death while investigating separate, repeated sexual assaults of two teenage boys at a Mount Ranier home from 2007 to 2014. Earlier this year, Lynch was charged in connection to those sexual assaults.
That investigation led two cold case detectives to interview a 47-year-old man who said he had been inside a home with Lynch and Junior the day of Junior’s disappearance, police said.
The man said that Lynch “ordered him to sexually assault Junior while the three of them were in the same room” and that “during that assault, Junior was killed,” according to police.
The man, who wasn’t identified by name, said he was 13 at the time and also lived in Junior’s neighborhood.
“Junior, I’m so sorry for what happened to you,” Junior’s sister Virginia Burdynski said at a Thursday news conference. “We’ve held onto hope for 33 years.”
“This is not what we prayed for,” Virginia added. “This is incredibly devastating. Our hearts are shattered.”
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The early investigation into Junior’s disappearance led to Lynch’s arrest and a 12-year prison sentence in connection to the sexual assaults of multiple other boys in 1993, according to police.
In addition to Lynch, two other men — Stephen Bruce Leak and James Kowalski — were arrested in those 1993 sexual assaults.
Leak and Kowalski were also convicted in relation to what had been an alleged child sex abuse ring involving all three men, per The Washington Post.
Lynch is the only person facing charges in Junior’s murder as of Friday, September 18, according to police.
He was charged while detained in relation to the sexual assaults of two teens from 2007 to 2014, as well as an alleged 2012 arson incident.
Information on his legal representation wasn’t immediately available.
“Detectives strongly believe Joseph Lynch sexually assaulted other victims either in the 1990s or after his release from jail in 2006,” police said. “If you believe you were victimized or have information relevant to this case, we want to hear from you. You are asked to call detectives at 301-772-4930.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
