Utah serial rape suspect confesses to multiple murders, law enforcement sources say

FARMINGTON, Utah (KSTU) -- Multiple law enforcement sources across the country have revealed a man accused of at least 11 rapes in Utah and Wyoming has now confessed to numerous murders.

Up until September, police had been looking for a suspect they called the "Clearfield Rapist."

Investigators said they were able to link DNA evidence from rape cases between 1991 and 2001 to Mark Douglas Burns, a 69-year-old truck driver in Ogden.

Prosecutors initially charged Burns with the sexual assault of victims in Rock Springs, Wyo.; Riverdale City, Utah; Ogden, Utah; Clearfield, Utah; Laramie, Wyo.; Layton, Utah.

In at least one case, police said Burns forced family members of his victims to watch the sexual assaults take place.

Since his incarceration, sources told FOX 13 they have linked more cases to Burns and that he has confessed to at least three murders and an unknown amount of additional rape charges.

Multiple sources say one of the cases now being linked to Burns is the 2001 killing of a 28-year-old woman named Sue Ellen Gunderson Higgins in Evanston, Wyoming. The Evanston Police Department is not confirming or denying Burns' involvement in the case, citing an ongoing investigation.