Michael C. Burham, 34, of Russell, formerly of Ashville, N.Y., faces eight felonies among 26 charges in Warren County, including two counts each of kidnapping and aggravated assault, and individual counts of burglary, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and criminal trespass.

Before the alleged kidnapping, Burham was wanted in Chautauqua County, N.Y., on charges of rape and unlawful imprisonment. He was then implicated in the May 11 death of Kala Hodgkin of Jamestown.

Burham reportedly fled New York state into Warren County – resulting eventually in a federal count of flight to avoid apprehension.

According to police, he kidnapped a Warren County couple from their home in Sheffield nine days later and forced them to travel with him in their vehicle to North Charleston, S.C., where he reportedly left them unharmed in a cemetery on May 21.

File photo by Eric Tichy Officers are pictured May 11 outside the home of Kala Hodgkin on William Street in Jamestown. A suspect in the case is expected to be brought back to Pennsylanvia to face charges including kidnapping.

Burham was captured by deputies in Berkeley County, S.C., on May 24 and returned to Chautauqua County.

He appeared in federal court in New York on Wednesday, where the federal charges were dismissed.

Attorneys in Chautauqua and Warren counties have been preparing for the prosecution. While the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office plans to prosecute Burham, allowing Warren County to handle its case first provides additional time to develop the case in New York.

“Since before (Burham’s) capture, I was in contact with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and District Attorney Rob Greene of Warren County, Pennsylvania, where the abduction occurred, so that we could coordinate our respective efforts in the most effective and sensible way possible to ensure that Mr. Burham is held accountable for his actions,” Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said Thursday. “With that, I arranged for the removal of all detainers lodged against Mr. Burham here in New York, and yesterday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office formally dismissed its charges under federal law, thereby paving the way for Pennsylvania to go forward with the prosecution of kidnapping charges filed by Pennsylvania State Police and District Attorney Greene’s office.”

“As a predicate to that, our State Court is already engaged in the necessary extradition process so that Mr. Burham will be transported to Pennsylvania,” Schmidt said.

Burham could reportedly be in Warren County next week.

Greene did not offer any immediate comment on the case Thursday.

“Letting Pennsylvania go first provides us with further time to continue to develop the evidence just as we have been doing since the early morning hours of May 11,” Schmidt said. “Understand that, once we charge any crime, the right to counsel attaches, limiting our ability to interview the suspect, and our ongoing investigation is also further complicated by New York’s discovery laws applicable in criminal proceedings.”

“Taking all of this into careful consideration, it is in our interest to avail ourselves of the opportunity created by the Pennsylvania prosecution – that is, to delay charging for Kala’s murder until we are in the best possible position to proceed with the prosecution,” he said. “Obviously we are headed in that direction, but we are not there just yet. We will be shortly.”

“At this point I think it’s clear to everyone who has followed these awful events that Mr. Burham is the prime suspect in the killing of Kala Hodgkin and a related arson committed on May 11 in the City of Jamestown,” Schmidt said. “It also seems apparent that, after committing these horrific acts, Mr. Burham fled the state, entered into the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, abducted an elderly couple, and then traveled south where he was eventually apprehended in South Carolina on May 24.”

“The day will come in fairly short order when Mr. Burham will be held to answer for his conduct here in New York,” Schmidt said.