Man in Taxi Getaway Charged in 2 Murders

A man who made his getaway to Las Vegas in a taxi after allegedly killing two people in Canoga Park eight months ago was charged Friday with the murders after being returned to Los Angeles, authorities said.

Mark Demand, 25, pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder with special circumstances in the deaths of Robert Ray Burley, 26, and Lori Elm, 18, whose bodies were found Jan. 26. in a house they had shared with Demand in the 7500 block of Kentland Avenue.

The victims had been beaten to death at least a week before the bodies were found by Burley’s brother. Police think Burley was a cocaine dealer and the murders were drug-related. Police found two pythons--one 13-feet long--that were apparently used to guard drugs in the house.

Authorities allege that Demand killed the couple, took about two pounds of cocaine from the house and fled to Las Vegas in a taxi. However, once in Las Vegas, Demand was arrested at a hotel on suspicion of possession of cocaine, authorities said.

Demand’s return to Los Angeles was delayed while his Las Vegas case proceeded. According to the Clark County District Attorneys Office in Las Vegas, Demand pleaded guilty April 14 to a drug trafficking charge and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

He was extradited to Los Angeles on Thursday and arraigned on the murder charges Friday in Van Nuys Municipal Court. If convicted, Demand could face the death penalty.