Burg murder suspect
back in jail

The Montgomery County man accused of supplying lethal doses of cocaine to an underage call girl whose body was dumped in the Northeast on Aug. 1 is back behind bars after allegedly hiring a prostitute for a rendezvous at a King of Prussia hotel last week.
David Downey, 52, formerly of Limerick Township, allegedly agreed to pay a woman $200 for oral sex. But when she showed up on Jan. 15 at the Crown Plaza Hotel, where Downey had rented a room, a night manager recognized the alleged killer and called police.
Downey was charged with solicitation of prostitution. Montgomery County Judge Richard Hodgson ordered the defendant jailed for violating the terms of his bail.
Downey had posted $250,000 bail just four days earlier after Hodgson had denied a motion by Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor to revoke bail in the third-degree murder case. Castor’s office argued that Downey’s lack of friends and family in the county, his establishment of a Maryland residence after the alleged murder and his apparent access to large sums of cash made him a high flight risk.
Downey faces a possible 20 to 40 years in prison if convicted of murdering former Fishtown resident Ashley Burg, 17, of Willingboro, N.J.
A local woman who was walking her dog discovered Burg’s mostly nude body lying in the weeds near Red Lion Road and Crestmont Avenue shortly after 10 a.m. on Aug. 1. She was wearing only a pair of black panties.
Investigators claim that a man and woman hired by Downey to dispose of the girl’s body left her at roadside minutes earlier.
Burg allegedly died in Downey’s home after ingesting large quantities of cocaine. A five-month grand jury investigation concluded that the drugs were Downey’s.
The defendant allegedly had hired the girl as an "escort" through a mutual acquaintance who worked as a stripper at Tattle Tales South in Port Richmond. The girl, who was to receive two-thirds of the $600 fee, allegedly arrived at Downey’s home shortly after midnight on July 31 and stayed there more than 24 hours.
Other strippers who claim to have worked for Downey testified that they typically would strip and dance for him and sometimes perform oral sex. Meanwhile, he would snort cocaine and often insist that they did, too, the women said.
Downey allegedly hired dozens of call girls in recent years.
The defendant has admitted hiring Burg but denied supplying her with drugs. He has claimed that she was unconscious, but alive, when she left his house with another couple, to whom he paid $2,600 for Burg’s medical expenses.
Downey’s preliminary hearing in the prostitution case is scheduled for Jan. 27 and in the murder case for Feb. 3.
Hodgson has issued a gag order for the case, prohibiting the prosecution and defense from speaking with the news media. ••