Donna Jou

Donna Jou




Donna is a Beautiful and Loved Daughter, Sister, Grand Daughter,
Niece, Cousin, Friend, and Honor San Diego State University Student.

Missing Beautiful 19 Year Old Pre-Med College Student Donna Jou Last Seen In Los Angeles
Donna posted an ad on Craig list (Internet) as a Math Tutor in hope to help other students.
During this process she was contacted by John Steven Burgess and a trust began. For this was
Donna's passion, to trust and help others. Her dream is to be a Doctor (Neurosurgeon).
Donna's big hart and generosity expanded by her community services of many hours dedicated
to baby sitting at the Battered Women's Shelters. Her intimate kindness shows her forever
love for her family. From the small personal notes left for her Father and the phone calls to say
goodnight every evening to the laughs and smiles given to her Mother each day.

Donna was last seen by witnesses with John
Steven Burgess at his residence 3617 Faris Drive,
Los Angeles, CA 90034 around midnight of June
23-24, 2007.

Donna graduated from Clear Lake High School, May 2006, GPA 4.4, SAT scores of 1,570.
She was tutoring mathematics during her last two years of high school, donated over 100 hours of her time to
help her fellow students.
Donna worked full time as a volunteer in St. John Hospital's Pathology Laboratories under direction of Dr.
Moore, summer 2005. She also has supported the Interfaith Ministries as a volunteer, this includes, collecting
nonperishable foods from grocery stores and delivery to food pantries for less fortunate, 2004-2005.
During her senior year at Clear Lake High School, she took a course named "Independent Study Mentor ship
(ISM)" Under direction of her mentor NASA senior scientist/Dr. Deborah Harm, she studied
Neurophysiology, Vestibular System, Spaceflight negative effects on astronauts' balance upon their return to
Earth. This was at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Johnson Space Center (JSC),
Houston, Texas.
Donna was admitted to the NASA's Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program or SHARP for
Summer 2006. As well as baby sitting for the Battered Women Shelters, she has volunteered as a cashier in
the Bay Area Turning Point Resale Shop in Nassau Bay, Texas in support of women shelters. Donna has
many more accomplishments preparing herself for future. Her family is proud and looks forward to continue
supporting her on this journey of accomplishments.


The Innocence Of A Child
John Stevens Burgess Rental Home and Last Known Place
Donna was seen June 23, 2007

$15,000 Reward for any information in finding Donna Jou.
If you have any information regarding Donna please
contact your local police department or call
Los Angeles Police Department at 213-485-2601
or Detective Ito at 213-485-2531..
You may leave a comment/tip on this site anonymously.

Supporters of Donna Jou Gathered outside of City Hall in California Friday, July 13, 2007
Sex: Male
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Weight: 235 lbs (107 kg)
Donna graduated from Clear Lake High School, May 2006, GPA 4.4, SAT scores of 1,570.
She was tutoring mathematics during her last two years of high school, donated over 100 hours of her time to
help her fellow students.
Donna worked full time as a volunteer in St. John Hospital's Pathology Laboratories under direction of Dr.
Moore, summer 2005. She also has supported the Interfaith Ministries as a volunteer, this includes, collecting
nonperishable foods from grocery stores and delivery to food pantries for less fortunate, 2004-2005.
During her senior year at Clear Lake High School, she took a course named "Independent Study Mentor ship
(ISM)" Under direction of her mentor NASA senior scientist/Dr. Deborah Harm, she studied
Neurophysiology, Vestibular System, Spaceflight negative effects on astronauts' balance upon their return to
Earth. This was at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Johnson Space Center (JSC),
Houston, Texas.
Donna was admitted to the NASA's Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program or SHARP for
Summer 2006. As well as baby sitting for the Battered Women Shelters, she has volunteered as a cashier in
the Bay Area Turning Point Resale Shop in Nassau Bay, Texas in support of women shelters. Donna has
many more accomplishments preparing herself for future. Her family is proud and looks forward to continue
supporting her on this journey of accomplishments.
Hope: intransitive verb 1: to cherish a desire with anticipation.
transitive verb 1: to expect with confidence.

We Have Hope To Bring Donna Home.
John Steven Burgess (Convicted Sex Offender) appearance in LA
courtroom August 20, 2007 on charges of failure to register as a Sex
Offender. He is still a suspect in Donna's Missing Case.





Donna was last seen by witnesses with John
Steven Burgess at his residence 3617 Faris Drive,
Los Angeles, CA 90034 around midnight of June
23-24, 2007.

"Justice for Donna March" outside the courthouse Sept. 5, 2007
Burgess was supposed to be in court for failing to register as a sex offender, but his pretrial hearing
was postponed until Oct. 10.
Outside the court, Sept. 5, 2007 a crowd, which included Donna's parents, attorney Gloria Allred and
friends chanted, "Where is Donna Jou?" Jou's parents made heartfelt pleas to Burgess for answers.

San Diego State University Students Show their support for the
family of Donna Jou In Candle light Vigil held at SDSU campus Sept, 12, 2007

John Steven Burgess
Sept. 5, 2007 - outside of LA court, Attorney Gloria Allred, is speaking with the media









We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Attorney Ms. Gloria Allred for her continuous legal advice and
support in search for our precious daughter, Donna.

We are also very thankful for the help and support that Orange County and Los Angeles County Law
Enforcement Officials have dedicated to the search for our missing daughter.

Thank you to Honorable Congressman Nick Lampson and his thoughtful staff (Kathy Guillory and Abby
Shannon) for their concerns and support in finding Donna.

Special thanks to friends and supporters involved in our search for Donna. Your prayers, thoughts, and advice
we will forever hold dear to our hearts.


We are asking for John Steven Burgess to help us bring Donna home. Burgess is choosing not to talk about
his knowledge of Donna's whereabouts. We have started a Petition to ask John Steven Burgess "Where Is
Donna"? Please Sign the Petition and Leave a comment for John Burgess to read as a request to help us find
Donna. We appreciate everyone's compassion and support to bring Donna back home.
Click here to sign a petition/ send a message to John Burgess.

If you have any information regarding Donna's case
please Contact Law Enforcement directly through their e-mail
Your Identity will remain anonymous.


Detective Ron Ito
21759@lapd.lacity.org

Detective Whelan
24961@lapd.lacity.org

Detective Diaz
26032@lapd.lacity.org

Detective Eguchi
26555@lapd.lacity.org


Gloria Allred

Tel: 323-653-6530

WEBSITE AND PETITION FOR DONNA

http://www.donnajou.com/


http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/where-is-donna.html

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAREST, DONNA
http://donnajou.com/Media.html

Today is your birthday, this is the 3rd birthday without your presence, we don’t know where you are and what happened to you, so much has
happened; I have so much to tell you. When you were just a phone call away or 3.5 hrs airplane ride and now it is 842 long, grueling days since
John Steven Burgess snatched you, lured you away from safety of your home – it is difficult to fathom. Time continues to tick and the minutes
turn into years with more questions than answers.

I was profoundly disturbed when I heard the verdict on May 18, 2009. I didn’t accept the verdict as the end of my crusade to seek justice for you.
It left long lasting scars. You were victimized by violence, and justice was not fully served. The verdict sends a clear message that the criminal
justice system still fails to respect the civil rights of innocent victims. This is painful and emotionally gut-wrenching to emerge from this crime.

I have cried so much! Then I have to stop because they wont
let me just cry for long so then I cry when I am alone.
I become overwhelmingly depressed. I miss what I had and fear
what I am now a part of. I remember feeling so bad that I could no
longer eat... But then they make sure I eat...

I had to be able to witness my daughter’s disappearance and then go to work the next day. And all along I had to pretend that nothing was
wrong... I had to survive any way possible...
Then somehow in the process of this, it becomes my world. It becomes my normal. It becomes my life. I do this by instinct. I am set with a
natural instinct to survive! I become numb to the reality of what I am in. I become numb to the danger. I become numb to the pain. I can not
forget what I had that was so wonderful before I new reality. If every day I remembered where I once was before I could NOT live to look for
you, to seek justice for you.

The pain of suddenly losing you, without explanation, is a horrible heartache beyond comprehension for me.
I love you Donna with my whole heart and miss you so much,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY PRECIOUS BABY M……..
Your Dad, Reza

Laptop clue to missing woman?
Police to search computer from motel room of molester wanted for questioning in disappearance of
Donna Jou, 19.
The Orange County Register

molester wanted for questioning in the disappearance of a 19-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita student
will be examined for information that may help lead to the missing woman, authorities said Wednesday.

bougainvillea vines near the railroad tracks a mile and a half from the home John Steven Burgess, 35,
who calls himself Sinjin Stevens, disappeared from he rented.

LAPD investigators have scoured the area around the railroad tracks as well as the wilderness trails at
Malibu State Park, which Burgess loved. But there still has been no sign of 19-year-old Donna Jou since
June 23, when her mother and brother watched her hop on the back of Burgess' motorcycle outside
their Rancho Santa Margarita apartment and drive away. Jou told her mother a friend's boyfriend was
picking her up – not a stranger she met through the Internet bulletin board craigslist.org.

Burgess' pickup, a 1998 blue Ford Ranger, turned up in a Jacksonville neighborhood last Friday – a
man who saw news coverage of Jou's disappearance turned it in. Authorities are waiting for a judge to
sign off on a search warrant so they can look inside, said Dan Salcedo, the Orange County Sheriff's
Department lead investigator on the case.

Burgess also has a sailboat called Sinjin's Sanctuary, which he kept at San Pedro Harbor and rented to
another registered sex offender. Investigators have talked to the man, and harbor officials confirmed
the 1963 Challenger has not left its slip, Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said.

His motorcycle – the one he used to pick up Jou – is still missing.

Burgess sits in a Jacksonville jail, refusing to talk about Jou after being arrested last week on suspicion
of cocaine possession. He's being held on a $1 million California warrant for failing to register as a sex
offender and a $5,000 bond on the drug charge. It could be weeks before he is extradited to California
to face charges on the warrant. He has not been named a suspect in Jou's disappearance. Because he
has already refused to talk, investigators cannot continue to question Burgess about Jou.

Sheriff's Department and LAPD investigators searched the three-bedroom Los Angeles home Burgess
rented and sublet. Burgess had packed the tiny 1920s house with students from Russia, Poland and
Bulgaria, who answered his ads he posted on craigslist.org. Burgess charged them hundreds of dollars a
month for little more than a mattress on the floor. There was even someone staying in the kitchen
where a dining table should have been. Dingy patterned sheets separated rooms. There was little
furniture. Everyone lived out of suitcases. The house was “420-friendly” – it didn't object to marijuana
– and they had get-togethers every other Saturday in the big backyard, Burgess promised in his online
ads.

On the road, Burgess sent an e-mail to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, trying to explain his
thoughts and feelings about what had happened to Donna Jou, said Burgess' mother, Patricia Berdet.
The department had received an e-mail from someone claiming to be Burgess, Salcedo said, but
investigators have not been able to confirm it was sent by Burgess – and he's not talking.

Berdet told the Register in an interview last week that her son was running because he hadn't kept up
on his sex offender registration as he was required to do after a 2003 conviction for a lewd and
lascivious act on a 14-year-old girl. She denied he had anything to do with Jou's disappearance.

“There were other people at that party,” Berdet said. “Not just my son.”

Contact the writer: 714-796-7829 or kedds@ocregister.com

But, Heather Dawn Harley-Davidson said she had no idea about the man's checkered past, or that he was
a person of interest in a crime across the country.

John Stephen Burgess was arrested last week, after deputies with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office caught
him dropping some cocaine off at a local motel.

Once inside the jail, the JSO received word that Burgess was a registered sex offender, wanted for
questioning in the disappearance of 19-year-old Donna Jou, a a student at the San Diego State University.

Prior to his arrest, Harley-Davidson said Burgess was working at the A1A Crab Shack and the Barrier
Island Restaurant and living in her third-floor penthouse overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.

When she took Burgess in, Harley-Davidson said she knew he needed help after having legal troubles in
California, but she said she had no idea just how much trouble that was.

"[His mother] did not tell me he was a sex offender," Harley-Davidson said. "She told me she had gotten
him out of trouble in L.A., but never in my wildest dreams..."

For nearly two weeks, Burgess lived under her roof, but she said it was only after a few days that things
started to get odd.

"A down (feathered) pillow was sliced, like, right open," Harley-Davidson said, "and the TV was ripped
out of the wall."

But she said it wasn't until the cable went out that Burgess really freaked out.

"He was very excited that the news was not on," she said. "And he had made the comment that he was a
news buff -- he had to watch the news. I think he wanted to watch the news so he could see his face
plastered all over it."

Harley-Davidson said she knew she had to get Burgess out of her house when she found a pipe with
marijuana in his room.

"My son told me this," she said. "I'm calling my brother saying 'get him out of my house -- do it now.'"

After hearing the news that Burgess may be linked to Jou's disappearance, Harley-Davidson said she told
investigators everything she knew about him, and hopes it can lead them to the missing college student.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, they are not the investigating agency on the disappearance,
but that they are simply holding him on unrelated drug charges.
The detective handling the case out of California said, so far, there's been no extradition date set to bring
him back, but investigators are questioning him and have plans to look into Harley-Davidson's computer
files to see if he was doing anything inappropriate while living with her.

Extradition waived in missing teen case


© 2007 The Associated Press


SANTA ANA, Calif. — A convicted sex offender wanted for questioning in the disappearance of a 19-year-old college student has pleaded guilty to a
drug charge in Florida and waived extradition to California, his attorney said.


He pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony charge for possession of crack in Florida and waived extradition to California last week, said George Bird Jr.,
his attorney.

"He's just waiting for the police from Los Angeles to come pick him up," Bird said.

Jou was last seen on June 23 getting on the back of Burgess' motorcycle to head to a party at his rented house in West Los Angeles.

Jou, a biology student at San Diego State University, sent a text message to her mother the following day saying that her cell phone battery was dying,
but she would be home soon. She has not been heard from since.

Two weeks after Jou disappeared, residents found a black plastic tool box in the street 1 1/2 miles from Burgess' house, authorities have said. The box
contained a license plate, a pair of gloves, rope and a scrub brush. The license plate read SINJIN1, which authorities say represents Burgess' alias,
Sinjin Stevens. Investigators also found a motorcycle helmet in the box.

Burgess was arrested late last month in Jacksonville, Fla., after police there say they spotted him trying to dispose of a bag of crack cocaine outside a
Motel 6. They found his 1998 blue Ford Ranger truck several days later in the Jacksonville area, but his motorcycle is still missing.

Investigators initially sought two men as persons of interest. They now believe Burgess used the photo of another man while contacting Jou online.

Burgess was convicted of three counts of battery in 2002 and of performing a lewd act against a child the following year.

Suspect pleads not guilty in Jou's disappearance
John Steven Burgess makes first California court appearance on failure to register as sex offender.

By KIMBERLY EDDS
The Orange County Register

A convicted child molester now a suspect in the disappearance of a 19-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita student painted his blue pickup truck black and used
an assumed name apparently to avoid detection while on the run from California to Florida, authorities revealed Monday.

In a borrowed light-blue dress shirt and his shoulder length brown hair stringy, John Steven Burgess, 35, made his first California court appearance Monday
after being extradited. It was also the first time he was called a suspect –and not just a person of interest.

Hands, uncuffed, and stuffed in the pockets of grey dress pants, Burgess shuffled in with a smirk. With a southern drawl, he said little other than yes, sir
and no, sir when addressed by the judge. Minutes later he shuffled out – back to lock-up – but $750,000 closer to freedom while he awaits prosecution for
failing to register as a sex offender
Burgess has not been charged with any crime in connection with the disappearance of Donna Jou, who was last seen by her family June 23 driving away on
the back of Burgess' motorcycle.

Burgess, who goes by the name Sinjin Stevens, drove Jou to a party at his Los Angeles home that included drinking and using drugs, investigators said. The
two met on Craigslist.org.

Investigators continue to build their case with circumstantial evidence against the man they believe was the last person to see her alive, according to a
sworn statement by a LAPD detective read aloud by Judge Keith L. Schwartz Monday.

Schwartz reduced Burgess’ bail from $1 million to $250,000, still more than 10 times the amount laid out in the county’s bail schedule. Burgess, who faces
six years in prison if convicted, pleaded not guilty.

Schwartz was the same judge who raised Burgess’s bail from $40,000 to $1 million in July after reviewing the detective’s sworn statements. Burgess’
departure to Florida with the “foreknowledge that he was a suspect” in Jou’s disappearance, along with his habits of paying rent with cash, living under an
alias and failing to register as a sex offender in California, and again in Florida, warranted raising the bail, the detective argued.

“It’s a common pattern used by sex offenders to go under the radar … so there is no paper trail,” Schwartz said.

Inmates normally must post just 10 percent of a bail amount to a bail bondsman to be released.

Defense attorney George Bird Jr. said was unaware Burgess had been named a suspect in Jou’s disappearance until he heard it in court.

“The previous statements that my client was a person of interest and not a suspect were either disingenuous or intentionally false,” said Bird, who denies
Burgess had anything to do with Jou’s disappearance.

Burgess lied to Jacksonville police about his identity when he was arrested in July 24 on suspicion of cocaine possession, said Orange County Sheriff’s
Investigator Dan Salcedo.

Fingerprints turned up the California warrant for his arrest. Burgess was sentenced to 25 days of time served after pleading guilty to third-degree felony
crack possession last week. He waived extradition.

Burgess left Los Angeles on July 5, the same day investigators from the Orange County Sheriff's Department named him a person of interest in Jou's
disappearance, and broadcast his picture and description of his blue 1998 Ford Ranger pickup.

Three days later, Burgess’ truck’s tool box was found along railroad tracks. With the box were his custom license plates SINJIN 1, a motorcycle helmet, a
scrubbing brush, rubber gloves, and some rope. By the time Burgess arrived in Florida, the Ranger had been painted black, Sheriff’s spokesman Jim
Amormino said.
“It obviously helped him get there without being noticed,” Amormino said. “She was last seen with him He removed the truck’s license plates, he painted it
black, and he fled to Florida. These are all things that look pretty suspicious.”

John Stephen Burgess was arrested last week, after deputies with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office caught
him dropping some cocaine off at a local motel.

Once inside the jail, the JSO received word that Burgess was a registered sex offender, wanted for
questioning in the disappearance of 19-year-old Donna Jou, a a student at the San Diego State University.

Prior to his arrest, Harley-Davidson said Burgess was working at the A1A Crab Shack and the Barrier
Island Restaurant and living in her third-floor penthouse overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.

When she took Burgess in, Harley-Davidson said she knew he needed help after having legal troubles in
California, but she said she had no idea just how much trouble that was.

"[His mother] did not tell me he was a sex offender," Harley-Davidson said. "She told me she had gotten
him out of trouble in L.A., but never in my wildest dreams..."

For nearly two weeks, Burgess lived under her roof, but she said it was only after a few days that things
started to get odd.

"A down (feathered) pillow was sliced, like, right open," Harley-Davidson said, "and the TV was ripped
out of the wall."

But she said it wasn't until the cable went out that Burgess really freaked out.

"He was very excited that the news was not on," she said. "And he had made the comment that he was a
news buff -- he had to watch the news. I think he wanted to watch the news so he could see his face
plastered all over it."

Harley-Davidson said she knew she had to get Burgess out of her house when she found a pipe with
marijuana in his room.

"My son told me this," she said. "I'm calling my brother saying 'get him out of my house -- do it now.'"

After hearing the news that Burgess may be linked to Jou's disappearance, Harley-Davidson said she told
investigators everything she knew about him, and hopes it can lead them to the missing college student.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, they are not the investigating agency on the disappearance,
but that they are simply holding him on unrelated drug charges.
The detective handling the case out of California said, so far, there's been no extradition date set to bring
him back, but investigators are questioning him and have plans to look into Harley-Davidson's computer
files to see if he was doing anything inappropriate while living with her.
Laptop clue to missing woman?
Police to search computer from motel room of molester wanted for questioning in disappearance of
Donna Jou, 19.
The Orange County Register

molester wanted for questioning in the disappearance of a 19-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita student
will be examined for information that may help lead to the missing woman, authorities said Wednesday.

bougainvillea vines near the railroad tracks a mile and a half from the home John Steven Burgess, 35,
who calls himself Sinjin Stevens, disappeared from he rented.

LAPD investigators have scoured the area around the railroad tracks as well as the wilderness trails at
Malibu State Park, which Burgess loved. But there still has been no sign of 19-year-old Donna Jou since
June 23, when her mother and brother watched her hop on the back of Burgess' motorcycle outside
their Rancho Santa Margarita apartment and drive away. Jou told her mother a friend's boyfriend was
picking her up – not a stranger she met through the Internet bulletin board craigslist.org.

Burgess' pickup, a 1998 blue Ford Ranger, turned up in a Jacksonville neighborhood last Friday – a
man who saw news coverage of Jou's disappearance turned it in. Authorities are waiting for a judge to
sign off on a search warrant so they can look inside, said Dan Salcedo, the Orange County Sheriff's
Department lead investigator on the case.

Burgess also has a sailboat called Sinjin's Sanctuary, which he kept at San Pedro Harbor and rented to
another registered sex offender. Investigators have talked to the man, and harbor officials confirmed
the 1963 Challenger has not left its slip, Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said.

His motorcycle – the one he used to pick up Jou – is still missing.

Burgess sits in a Jacksonville jail, refusing to talk about Jou after being arrested last week on suspicion
of cocaine possession. He's being held on a $1 million California warrant for failing to register as a sex
offender and a $5,000 bond on the drug charge. It could be weeks before he is extradited to California
to face charges on the warrant. He has not been named a suspect in Jou's disappearance. Because he
has already refused to talk, investigators cannot continue to question Burgess about Jou.

Sheriff's Department and LAPD investigators searched the three-bedroom Los Angeles home Burgess
rented and sublet. Burgess had packed the tiny 1920s house with students from Russia, Poland and
Bulgaria, who answered his ads he posted on craigslist.org. Burgess charged them hundreds of dollars a
month for little more than a mattress on the floor. There was even someone staying in the kitchen
where a dining table should have been. Dingy patterned sheets separated rooms. There was little
furniture. Everyone lived out of suitcases. The house was “420-friendly” – it didn't object to marijuana
– and they had get-togethers every other Saturday in the big backyard, Burgess promised in his online
ads.

On the road, Burgess sent an e-mail to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, trying to explain his
thoughts and feelings about what had happened to Donna Jou, said Burgess' mother, Patricia Berdet.
The department had received an e-mail from someone claiming to be Burgess, Salcedo said, but
investigators have not been able to confirm it was sent by Burgess – and he's not talking.

Berdet told the Register in an interview last week that her son was running because he hadn't kept up
on his sex offender registration as he was required to do after a 2003 conviction for a lewd and
lascivious act on a 14-year-old girl. She denied he had anything to do with Jou's disappearance.

“There were other people at that party,” Berdet said. “Not just my son.”

Contact the writer: 714-796-7829 or kedds@ocregister.com
http://www.click2houston.com/news/13777769/detail.html#http://www.click2houston.com/news/13777769/detail.html
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1795462.php
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5508465
Extradition waived in missing teen case


© 2007 The Associated Press

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SANTA ANA, Calif. — A convicted sex offender wanted for questioning in the disappearance of a 19-year-old college student has pleaded guilty to a
drug charge in Florida and waived extradition to California, his attorney said.


He pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony charge for possession of crack in Florida and waived extradition to California last week, said George Bird Jr.,
his attorney.

"He's just waiting for the police from Los Angeles to come pick him up," Bird said.

Jou was last seen on June 23 getting on the back of Burgess' motorcycle to head to a party at his rented house in West Los Angeles.

Jou, a biology student at San Diego State University, sent a text message to her mother the following day saying that her cell phone battery was dying,
but she would be home soon. She has not been heard from since.

Two weeks after Jou disappeared, residents found a black plastic tool box in the street 1 1/2 miles from Burgess' house, authorities have said. The box
contained a license plate, a pair of gloves, rope and a scrub brush. The license plate read SINJIN1, which authorities say represents Burgess' alias,
Sinjin Stevens. Investigators also found a motorcycle helmet in the box.

Burgess was arrested late last month in Jacksonville, Fla., after police there say they spotted him trying to dispose of a bag of crack cocaine outside a
Motel 6. They found his 1998 blue Ford Ranger truck several days later in the Jacksonville area, but his motorcycle is still missing.

Investigators initially sought two men as persons of interest. They now believe Burgess used the photo of another man while contacting Jou online.

Burgess was convicted of three counts of battery in 2002 and of performing a lewd act against a child the following year.
Houston chronicle Aug. 17, 2007
DANA PRETZER SHOW
Suspect pleads not guilty in Jou's disappearance
John Steven Burgess makes first California court appearance on failure to register as sex offender.

By KIMBERLY EDDS
The Orange County Register

A convicted child molester now a suspect in the disappearance of a 19-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita student painted his blue pickup truck black and used
an assumed name apparently to avoid detection while on the run from California to Florida, authorities revealed Monday.

In a borrowed light-blue dress shirt and his shoulder length brown hair stringy, John Steven Burgess, 35, made his first California court appearance Monday
after being extradited. It was also the first time he was called a suspect –and not just a person of interest.

Hands, uncuffed, and stuffed in the pockets of grey dress pants, Burgess shuffled in with a smirk. With a southern drawl, he said little other than yes, sir
and no, sir when addressed by the judge. Minutes later he shuffled out – back to lock-up – but $750,000 closer to freedom while he awaits prosecution for
failing to register as a sex offender
Burgess has not been charged with any crime in connection with the disappearance of Donna Jou, who was last seen by her family June 23 driving away on
the back of Burgess' motorcycle.

Burgess, who goes by the name Sinjin Stevens, drove Jou to a party at his Los Angeles home that included drinking and using drugs, investigators said. The
two met on Craigslist.org.

Investigators continue to build their case with circumstantial evidence against the man they believe was the last person to see her alive, according to a
sworn statement by a LAPD detective read aloud by Judge Keith L. Schwartz Monday.

Schwartz reduced Burgess’ bail from $1 million to $250,000, still more than 10 times the amount laid out in the county’s bail schedule. Burgess, who faces
six years in prison if convicted, pleaded not guilty.

Schwartz was the same judge who raised Burgess’s bail from $40,000 to $1 million in July after reviewing the detective’s sworn statements. Burgess’
departure to Florida with the “foreknowledge that he was a suspect” in Jou’s disappearance, along with his habits of paying rent with cash, living under an
alias and failing to register as a sex offender in California, and again in Florida, warranted raising the bail, the detective argued.

“It’s a common pattern used by sex offenders to go under the radar … so there is no paper trail,” Schwartz said.

Inmates normally must post just 10 percent of a bail amount to a bail bondsman to be released.

Defense attorney George Bird Jr. said was unaware Burgess had been named a suspect in Jou’s disappearance until he heard it in court.

“The previous statements that my client was a person of interest and not a suspect were either disingenuous or intentionally false,” said Bird, who denies
Burgess had anything to do with Jou’s disappearance.

Burgess lied to Jacksonville police about his identity when he was arrested in July 24 on suspicion of cocaine possession, said Orange County Sheriff’s
Investigator Dan Salcedo.

Fingerprints turned up the California warrant for his arrest. Burgess was sentenced to 25 days of time served after pleading guilty to third-degree felony
crack possession last week. He waived extradition.

Burgess left Los Angeles on July 5, the same day investigators from the Orange County Sheriff's Department named him a person of interest in Jou's
disappearance, and broadcast his picture and description of his blue 1998 Ford Ranger pickup.

Three days later, Burgess’ truck’s tool box was found along railroad tracks. With the box were his custom license plates SINJIN 1, a motorcycle helmet, a
scrubbing brush, rubber gloves, and some rope. By the time Burgess arrived in Florida, the Ranger had been painted black, Sheriff’s spokesman Jim
Amormino said.
“It obviously helped him get there without being noticed,” Amormino said. “She was last seen with him He removed the truck’s license plates, he painted it
black, and he fled to Florida. These are all things that look pretty suspicious.”
Sex Offender Extradited Aug. 18, 2007 Galveston Daily News
SCARED MONKEYS MISSING PERSON SITE

John Steven Burgess, suspected in disappearance of Donna
Jou of Rancho Santa Margarita, posts $250,000 bail.

By KIMBERLY EDDS
The Orange County Register

A convicted child molester suspected in the disappearance of a 19-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita student was released from a Los Angeles jail this morning after
posting $250,000 bail.

Charges have not been filed against John Steven Burgess, 35, in the mysterious disappearance of Donna Jou, who was last seen by her family June 23 driving away on
the back of Burgess' motorcycle. But investigators say they believe he is the last person to have seen the San Diego State student alive. Investigators in two counties
continue to search for Jou – and build their circumstantial case against the man they believe is responsible for her disappearance.

Burgess is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 5 on charges he failed to register as a sex offender. If convicted, he faces six years in prison.

Burgess, who goes by the name Sinjin Stevens, drove Jou to a party at his Los Angeles home that included drinking and using drugs, investigators said. The two met on
Craigslist.org. Jou was seen at the party – but hasn't been seen since.

Burgess walked out of the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles about 12:35 a.m. after posting bail, according to Los Angeles County jail records. Who provided
the bail money has not been publicly released.

Judge Keith L. Schwartz last week reduced Burgess' bail on the warrant from $1 million to $250,000, still more than 10 times the amount laid out in the county's bail
schedule. Burgess, who faces six years in prison if convicted, pleaded not guilty.

"In a case like this we would all like to see a higher bail, but the judge is governed by laws that say no excessive bail," said Orange County Sheriff's Department
spokesman Jim Amormino. "The world is too small for him to hide."

Schwartz was the same judge who, after reviewing sworn statements by an LAPD detective, raised Burgess's bail on the failure to register charge from $40,000 to $1
million in July. Burgess' departure to Florida with the "foreknowledge that he was a suspect" in Jou's disappearance, along with his habits of paying rent with cash, living
under an alias and failing to register as a sex offender in California, and again in Florida, warranted raising the bail, the detective argued.

"It's a common pattern used by sex offenders to go under the radar … so there is no paper trail," Schwartz said.

Inmates normally must post just 10 percent of a bail amount to a bail bondsman to be released.

Defense attorney George Bird Jr. said was unaware Burgess had been named a suspect in Jou's disappearance until he heard it in court.

"The previous statements that my client was a person of interest and not a suspect were either disingenuous or intentionally false," said Bird, who denies Burgess had
anything to do with Jou's disappearance.

Burgess left Los Angeles on July 5, the same day investigators from the Orange County Sheriff's Department named him a person of interest in Jou's disappearance, and
broadcast his picture and description of his blue 1998 Ford Ranger pickup.

Three days later, Burgess' truck's toolbox was found along railroad tracks. With the box were his custom license plates SINJIN 1, a motorcycle helmet, a scrubbing
brush, rubber gloves, and some rope.

Detectives tracked Burgess to San Francisco, Las Vegas, Tucson, and then to Jacksonville. He had painted his blue pickup black and used an assumed name apparently to
avoid detection while on the run from California to Florida, Amormino said.

Burgess lied to Jacksonville police about his identity when he was arrested in July 24 on suspicion of cocaine possession, said Orange County sheriff's Investigator Dan
Salcedo.

Fingerprints turned up the California warrant for his arrest. Burgess was sentenced to 25 days of time served after pleading guilty to third-degree felony crack possession
last week. He waived extradition.

"He was last seen with her. He removed his truck's license plates, he painted it black, and he fled to Florida," Amormino said. "These are all things that look pretty
suspicious."

http://donnajou.com/Media.html

All updates on Donna's case

http://donnajou.com/

To read her families heartache go to her website. Its heartbreaking to read