Shannon Gallagher, the California lawyer-turned-Surfside commission candidate charged with murdering her uncle in what may have been a case of illegally assisted suicide, was in court Monday trying to get the charges against her dismissed over what she calls the state’s failure to maintain and produce exculpatory evidence.
Appearing before Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra, Gallagher, 56, said prosecutors have violated her constitutional right to a fair trial by losing video surveillance footage that could reveal how her uncle, Thomas Burke, died in March 2022 — two days after rewriting his will to cut off his children and leave everything to Gallagher.
She has been charged with first-degree murder and assisting self-murder, a second-degree felony in Florida punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison. First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence.
Gallagher’s previous lawyers argued that Burke, 74, was suffering in his final days after an end-stage esophageal cancer diagnosis and decided to end his life. But Gallagher has been representing herself on the case for more than a year.
Outside Kollra’s courtroom, Gallagher said she is a member of the California Bar and, although she has not practiced in Florida and has no experience in criminal law, she realized early on that she would be better off spending her money on expert witnesses than on defense lawyers.
“I would love to have had a lawyer,” she said. But “thank goodness that was the decision I made, because I think I’ve done a better job than any of the attorneys I could have hired.”
Kollra once again asked Gallagher if she wanted him to appoint an attorney to represent her, but she declined.
Shannon Gallagher after giving her opening statement on Monday at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of murder charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shannon Gallagher delivers her opening statement Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shannon Gallagher before giving her opening statement Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
State’s Attorney Taylor Collins motions towards Shannon Gallagher Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shannon Gallagher during her opening statement Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
David Zeliff, an expert witness for Shannon Gallagher, testifies about body camera video Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shannon Gallagher is seen on a March 2022 body camera video at the scene of the death of her uncle during a hearing Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shannon Gallagher listens as the State’s Attorney questions one of Gallagher’s expert witnesses Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Judge Ernest Kollra warns the gallery in the Shannon Gallagher case not to take video or photos Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shannon Gallagher confers with her expert witness Patrick Eller Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shannon Gallagher after giving her opening statement Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Judge Ernest Kollra listens to the proceedings in the Shannon Gallagher case Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shannon Gallagher delivers her opening statement Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shannon Gallagher speaks to the media Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of homicide charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
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Shannon Gallagher after giving her opening statement on Monday at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Gallagher, an attorney who is representing herself, is seeking dismissal of murder charges against her because she claims there is missing home security video. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The hearing before Kollra is expected to continue at a later date, with Assistant State Attorney Taylor Collins arguing for the prosecution.
Outside the courtroom, Gallagher insisted her uncle was suicidal to the end. “He told the nurses … he said that he was going to die of lead poisoning,” she recalled. “That’s not someone who is murdered. That’s someone who had an exit strategy, and he didn’t share it with me.”
She added that she was staying in her uncle’s Fort Lauderdale home when he died, and it was she who called 911.
“I’m at least smart enough to know that if I were going to kill my uncle, the last place you would have found me when his body was discovered would have been having slept in his living room,” she said.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.