A 22-year-old New Jersey woman has been accused of violently beating another woman to death with a broom inside an Atlantic City home over the weekend, officials said.
Ceani Barnes is facing a count of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in connection with the death of 34-year-old Christina Burdette, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Thursday. She was found “unresponsive” during a welfare check at a residence along Sheridan Avenue on Saturday morning and pronounced dead just after 10 a.m.
The Southern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office has since ruled Burdette’s death a homicide. The cause, meanwhile, was listed as “complications of multiple blunt force trauma injuries with chronic abuse.”
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by NJ Advance Media, 21-year-old Barnes attacked Burdette with a broom, leaving her with injuries to her head, ears and face. Investigators also noted that it appeared someone had tried to treat Burdette and attempted to dress some of her wounds.
The victim’s family previously told PHL 17 that Burdette was covered in bruises and that her head had been wrapped in gauze when they viewed her body.
In addition to Barnes, two others were at the home when the police arrived, and they were both interviewed by authorities. They told officers that Burdette came to the home around 2 a.m. Saturday with “significant injuries to her body and a bandage on her head,” according to the affidavit.
Upon further investigation, authorities determined they were given false information about Burdette’s injuries.
Police said Barnes later admitted that she “smothered and killed” Burdette, per the affidavit. A witness also told investigators that Barnes assaulted Burdette “on multiple occasions” the day before police were called to the home.
It’s unclear what, if any relationship, Barnes had with Burdette.
