American Monster: What happened to Laurie Bursey?

The Champlin resident, Laurie Bursey, was found shot to death in her home in August, 2005. While the initial 911 call mentioned that her death was a case of suicide, investigations revealed that she had been shot to death in the back of the head.

Bursey had been arguing with her husband, Kurt Thomas Bird, who testified to having misfired the gun during a struggle. When asked if he had found Laurie in such a position, he mentioned that it had not been "quite like that".

The American Monster episode The Biker & His Bride showcases Laurie Bursey's murder on July 14, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST on Investigation Discovery. The official synopsis reads,

"Laurie Bursey spent her life searching for happiness; after two marriages and three children, she thinks she finally found it in southern trucker Kurt Bird; but, a violent abuser lurks behind Kurt's bad-boy swagger, and happiness soon becomes fear."

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Who was Laurie Bursey? Details explored

Laurie Kay Bird was born on April 20, 1956, to parents Carol and Phillip Forde. She grew up with six siblings including two sisters, Mona Jungwirth and Lynell Tanner, and four brothers, Gary Forde, Randy Forde, Glenn Anderson, and Tommy Anderson.

Laurie Bursey Bird was a resident of Champlin, Minnesota (Image via Unsplash)

Laurie worked at Damark and Onvoy after completing her education. She married twice and was a parent to three daughters, Kristin, Kelly, and Kari Bursey. However, she settled down with her boyfriend, a Southern trucker by the name of Kurt Thomas Bird, and reportedly got married to him eventually.

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What happened to Laurie Bursey?

The local police received a 911 call from a Champlin, Minnesota apartment on August 2, 2005, informing them about an alleged suicide. The responders at the crime scene found the 49-year-old Laurie Bird lying on the bed face-down with a gunshot wound to her head, per court documents.

The officers at the scene including Sergeant Chris Larrabee came across Laurie's husband, Kurt Thomas Bird, outside the premises. Laurie lay on the bed with a .45-caliber semiautomatic gun in her hand placed above her head. There were no visible signs of struggle.

Kurt filled in on the details as he shared with Larrabee that they had argued around 7 a.m. local time in the morning during which Laurie Bird had brought out a gun. He alleged that a struggle ensued and during the ordeal, the gun misfired and led her to her death.

Laurie was shot with a .45 semiautomatic gun (Image via Unsplash)

The investigations into Laurie's death revealed twists in the statements that led to a complicated trial. Per court documents, the officers took Kurt Bird to a Brooklyn Park detention facility where he was interrogated. He revealed that the argument with Laurie was regarding whether she had molested one of his daughters from his previous marriage and allegedly had a s*xual relationship with her.

According to Kurt, he left the room only to reenter and find her fooling around with a gun, not knowing it was loaded. In another account, he mentioned that he had entered the bedroom to expect Laurie to be asleep but instead found her at the edge of the bed with a gun in her hand.

He also claimed that Laurie shared that she wished she had been dead as she was allegedly HIV-positive which was later found to be untrue. Kurt Thomas Bird also mentioned that Laurie intended to move out with another man and had more than one extramarital affair.

Though Kurt denied having shot Laurie, after thorough investigation he was founded guilty and was charged with one count of first-degree domestic abuse murder, one count of second-degree murder, and one count of first-degree premeditated murder in 2006.

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Catch all the details of Laurie Bursey's murder as American Monster airs on Investigation Discovery on July 14, 2024.