Convicted Trumbull County killer transferred to high-security federal prison

Austin Burke

Austin Burke, a 26-year-old Ohio inmate serving a life sentence for murder in Trumbull County, has been transferred to a high-security federal penitentiary in Florence, Colorado, according to officials.

JoEllen Smith, Chief of Communications for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, confirmed Burke's transfer to the federal Bureau of Prisons, citing "security reasons." Smith declined to provide further details regarding the transfer.

Burke's new incarceration facility is a high-security U.S. penitentiary in Florence, Colorado, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website. His projected release date is March 5, 2085.

Burke, formerly of Bristolville, Ohio, was already serving a life sentence for the 2017 shooting death of Kenneth Brandon Sample. Sample's body was found in the Grand River Wildlife Area. A jury convicted Burke in March 2018 on charges including aggravated murder and aggravated robbery, resulting in a sentence that required him to serve a minimum of 47 years before parole eligibility.

In October 2024, an additional 10 to 15 years were added to Burke's sentence after he pleaded guilty in Scioto County Common Pleas Court to manslaughter and two counts of assault. Prosecutors stated that Burke killed a fellow inmate in a fight and, in a separate incident, cut a corrections officer. He also previously received an 11-year sentence for possessing a "shank" in the Trumbull County Jail.