PORT HUENEME : Family of Slaying Victim Offers Reward

The family of a Port Hueneme woman who was slain three months ago has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.

Cindy Burger, 44, was strangled Aug. 5 and her two-story condominium on Outlook Cove set on fire in an apparent attempt to cover up the cause of her death. Port Hueneme police, who have been unable to identify a suspect, have enlisted a high-tech FBI unit that specializes in solving violent crimes.

“The investigation has been fruitless so far,” said Patrick Murphy, a friend of Burger’s family, who spoke on behalf of the Cindy Burger Memorial Trust Fund. Burger worked in the customer relations department of Gold Coast Acura in Ventura, which her parents own.

With the reward, Murphy said, “the family is hoping that somebody who knows something and has not stepped forward will tell what they know.”

Burger is one of three women slain in Port Hueneme since June 1, when Norma Rodriguez, a 32-year-old mother of two, was found strangled in the living room of her home. Three weeks later, Beatrice Bellis, an 87-year-old deaf woman, was stabbed to death inside her home in a senior citizens’ apartment building.

On Thursday, Port Hueneme Police Sgt. Fernando Estrella welcomed news of the reward, saying the long hours spent by police so far have not yet paid off.

Anyone with information about the crimes is asked to call the Port Hueneme Police Department at 986-6530. Tips on the Burger slaying may also be directed to Herb Stout, a trustee of the memorial fund, at 379-9701.