Gallagher asks Broward judge to toss murder charges in uncle’s death

Shannon Gallagher asked a Broward judge to dismiss her murder case Monday, arguing that Fort Lauderdale police mishandled the investigation into her uncle’s death by failing to preserve home surveillance video that may have captured his final hours.

Gallagher, 56, appeared before Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra in Fort Lauderdale as she sought to knock out charges of first-degree murder and assisting in self-murder in the death of Thomas Burke, 74. Burke was found shot in the head in Fort Lauderdale in March 2022. Gallagher said the missing video was especially important because it could have shown what happened around the time Burke died.

Burke signed a new will just days before his death, leaving everything to Gallagher, who had been his caretaker, and cutting out his children, ex-wife and grandchild. Prosecutors maintain that the evidence against Gallagher remains strong.

Prosecutors are aiming for a trial as soon as September 2026. Gallagher’s bond on the assisting-in-self-murder charge was set at $100,000 in June 2025.

Gallagher also fought the case in appellate court as her criminal case has moved through Broward County. In a June 11, 2025 decision, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal allowed her to pursue testimony preservation in the criminal matter and rejected broad limits on her discovery depositions. She is a licensed attorney even though she is representing herself pro se. The case is 22-012103CF10A.

Gallagher was one of six candidates for the Surfside Town Commission in March 2022, the same month Burke was found dead in Fort Lauderdale.