A Fallbrook resident who killed a man whose body was found buried on the defendant’s property was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in state prison.
Nicholas Andrew Burg, 31, pleaded guilty in Vista Superior Court to second-degree murder in the death of Robert Berry Pierce, 56.
The criminal complaint filed against Burg alleges Pierce was killed either July 12 or 13, 2021.
Sheriff’s deputies were summoned July 14 to investigate a “suspicious circumstance” at Burg’s property on South Ridge Drive and found the victim’s body buried there, according to Lt. Thomas Seiver.
Burg was arrested two days later in the Riverside County city of Murrieta.
The motive for the killing and the relationship between Burg and Pierce was never discovered, according to Deputy District Attorney Nicolette Estrada.
However, the prosecutor said a witness to the murder testified at Burg’s preliminary hearing that Burg met Pierce at Pechanga Casino and later killed the victim with a baseball bat.
