The man accused of killing Courtney Drysdale “execution-style” had previously worked with the rural Momence bar owner and was fired after she caught him stealing money from the business, Kankakee County prosecutors revealed in court this week. Courtney Drysdale, 30, was shot to death at the bar she owned in Momence in Kankakee County. (Hailey Gershon) At the hearing, Julius E. Burkes Jr., 47, of Hammond, was ordered detained pending trial. He faces charges of first-degree murder, robbery and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon in the Feb. 2 shooting death of Drysdale, a 30-year-old mother remembered as a “beautiful person” by her friends.  Prosecutors argued that Burkes posed a “significant threat to the safety and well-being of our community.” He has a prior murder conviction from Cook County in 1995, prosecutors noted. He was also accused of breaking into the residence of a former girlfriend in December.  “He traveled across state lines to commit this crime,” prosecutors said. “He planned it out, wearing a face covering and gloves in an attempt to conceal his identity, attempting to conceal his location by placing his phone into airplane mode … and executed a young female at close range by shooting her twice in the head.”  Surveillance footage recovered from The Line, the bar Drysdale owned in Momence near the Illinois/Indiana state line in Kankakee County, showed the moments leading up to her death, prosecutors said.  Drysdale opened the bar at 11 a.m. and about five minutes later, a white BMW sedan pulled into the parking lot. A man, who prosecutors believe to be Burkes, enters the bar and removes a gun from the right pocket of his jacket. He’s wearing a bright yellow jacket and head-and-neck covering, prosecutors said.  Inside the bar, Burkes points the gun at Drysdale and orders her to remove items from the cash register and office area. He then appears to order her to sit on the bar floor.  At 11:13 a.m., the footage showed Burkes shooting Drysdale one time in her head “execution-style” and her body collapsing to the floor. Prosecutors said Burkes began to walk away but came back 15 seconds later, reached over the bar and shot her a second time in the head. He then leaves the scene.  Officers found Drysdale at the bar just before noon, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy confirmed her cause of death to be two gunshot wounds to the head, prosecutors said.  Numerous anonymous callers identified Burkes after police released photos of the gunman to the public, prosecutors said.  During the search, police also spoke with the bar’s former owner, who said Burkes worked at the business, which was then called Kavalier’s Bar, from 2017 to 2019. Burkes was fired after Drysdale, who was an employee at the time, reported to the owner that he had stolen money, prosecutors said.  Police then located a white BMW that matched the characteristics of the vehicle shown in the surveillance footage and was traveling near The Line at the time of Drysdale’s death. Burkes’ former girlfriend told investigators she had sold the car to him, and his current girlfriend confirmed he drives it, prosecutors said.  His girlfriend also told officers that the yellow jacket the gunman is wearing in the surveillance footage matches the one Burkes was issued by his employer. She said he deposited $751 cash into her account on the day Drysdale was murdered, prosecutors said.  Cell phone records also showed Burkes traveling from his Indiana home toward The Line Bar and back again, prosecutors said. When he was within four miles of the bar, investigators believe he turned the phone off or placed it into airplane mode. About 26 hours after the shooting, Burkes was arrested at his Hammond home in connection with the slaying. In an interview with police, Burkes admitted that he previously worked at the bar but denied that he was the gunman in the video. He claimed he was dropping his child off in Indiana at 9 a.m. and then went home and watched a movie.  Drysdale’s friends remembered her as loving, funny and an amazing mother. She started at the bar as a bartender and was then promoted to manager before purchasing it a few years ago. She leaves behind a 12-year-old daughter and a fiancé of five years. She planned to get married over the summer. “If a person could be gold,” friend Hannah Rhanor told the Tribune, “it was her.” ...read more read less