Former Treetops employee killed while helping rape victim

By Frank Visco
Collegian Editor
September 13, 2006

The La Salle community has been witness to tragedy in the past, especially over the last few years, which have included rape allegations, the death of a student and the serious injury of a beloved football player.

However, on Aug. 30, a different type of tragedy – a violent type – occurred just 10 blocks east of campus, and it has ramifications on much of the staff and students at La Salle.

That night, Anthony Burno, a former Food Services employee of La Salle, and his girlfriend, Kira Derrick, were gunned down after stumbling upon a rape behind Burno’s row home on the 900 block of Olney Avenue.

Police report that at approximately 11:30 p.m. that night, an 18-year old woman, who was waiting for the bus near 10th and Olney, was accosted by a man at gun point. The man tried to rob her at first, but when he realized she had no money he pulled her into the alleyway behind Burno’s home and proceeded to rape her at gun point with a .45 semi-automatic.

At that time, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, Burno and Derrick arrived home for the evening. The rapist ordered his victim to put her pants back on and pretend to be his girlfriend, which she did initially. However, she then ran from her attacker toward the couple.

“She started screaming that, ‘He’s got a gun, he’s gonna kill me!’ And with that everybody turned to flee and that’s when the gunshots erupted,” Chief of Detectives, Joseph Fox, told reporters.

Although the trio attempted to flee and hide in Burno’s backyard, the rapist pursued them, shooting all three before they had the chance to do so.

“You could call it an execution,” Fox told reporters. The attacker fled, but did not get far, as two police officers, Richard Redanaure and Timothy McGonigle, responded quickly to a radio dispatch of gun fire.

They spotted the attacker running down 11th Street and caught up with him, wrestling away his gun and capturing him.

Meanwhile, the rape victim was able to limp to a neighbor’s house for help and was hospitalized, suffering wounds to her leg and arm. She is expected to survive, but Burno and Derrick died in Burno’s backyard.

The next day, police announced the attacker to be 24-year-old Kevin White, who had been free on bail after the alleged sexual assault and beating of the six-year-old son of his girlfriend. He is currently being held without bail, and is charged with murder, aggravated assault and rape.

Although Burno, 48, left La Salle for undisclosed reasons in the middle of the school year last year, members of the La Salle community, specifically those who worked with him in Treeptops Café, were affected by the loss.

“The management and staff were shocked to learn of Anthony’s passing,” John Williamson, the manager of Treetops, said. “The manner in which he was killed caught everyone by surprise.”

Patty Garvey, a Treetops employee and former coworker of Burno’s, also expressed her personal sadness, as well as the distress of the rest of her staff.

“I saw it on the news, but I didn’t realize it was him,” she said. “Then I came in and found out, and it was just an incredibly sad atmosphere that day for all of us. When I found out, I cried. It’s just a horrible thing.”

Burno had been affectionately regarded by staff and students alike for his affinity to sing while working and, according to Williamson, he will be missed.

“He had developed a relationship among his co-workers, and students always enjoyed his excellent culinary skills,” Williamson said. “Many of our staff signed sympathy cards and mailed them to his family, while others attended the Saturday funeral service. [We] will remember Tony as a friendly person who always had a song to sing.”

Garvey, who many students know as the cheesesteak lady, also confirmed that Burno would be missed. She shared a smile as she reminisced about what it was like to work with him.

“He was a nice man, and we used to have some fun together,” she said. “He thought he was cool, and I’d ask him why he thought that, and he’d say all confident, ‘Because, I’m Denzel.’ He was a pleasant guy to have around, and we’ll miss him.”

viscof1@lasalle.edu