Ryan Dillon case on American Monster - A complete timeline of events

American Monster shines a spotlight on the killing of 59-year-old Vicky Burks in Springfield, Ohio, and the prosecution of her son, Ryan Dillon, in Season 13, Episode 5, titled Momma’s Boy. The episode reconstructs the family’s life through home videos and interviews, then follows the investigation from the discovery of Vicky’s body in May 2012 to Dillon’s convictions in 2014. 

Episode 5 of the show American Monster was released on Investigation Discovery (ID) on November 25, 2025. Viewers can watch it on the ID or stream the episode with a subscription on Max.

Ryan Dillon Background: Family, home, and earlier police contact (before 2009)

Vicky Burks lived in a house on Middle Urbana Road in Moorefield Township, near Springfield, Ohio, with her husband, Martin Burks, and her adult son, Ryan Dillon, as per the Springfield News. Local reporting and later court summaries describe a long-term pattern of family conflict.

Domestic violence cases involving Ryan Dillon's mother and stepfather were part of his lengthy criminal history. Vicky continued to let him live at home or visit it occasionally in spite of those incidents. According to Springfield News, friends and neighbors would later tell reporters that she stayed committed to her son and made an effort to help him even when his actions alarmed her and other family members.

2009: Vicky’s warning letter and growing fears

In 2009, Vicky wrote a letter to the local court system expressing fear that Ryan Dillon might one day kill her and her husband. She reported that her son threatened them daily and said he would kill them if he ever had to return to jail, as per the Dayton Daily News.

This letter later became a key piece of evidence at trial, used by prosecutors to show both Dillon’s threats and Vicky’s ongoing fear. The letter was admitted into evidence, but on appeal in 2016, the Ohio Court of Appeals ruled that its use to prove premeditation for aggravated murder was improper, even though other convictions were upheld, according to the State. Despite her fears, Vicky continued to live with and support Ryan Dillon.

Vicky Burks was killed on May 9, 2012, and her body was found.

On May 9, 2012, events at the Burks' home turned deadly. Ryan Dillon accessed online court information that morning and saw there was a warrant for his arrest. Prosecutors later argued that he then confronted Vicky in the kitchen and beat her repeatedly, likely with a tee-ball or small baseball bat, striking her in the head and hands, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Her hands and skull were broken by the blows, which also resulted in fatal blunt-force trauma. According to Springfield News, her body was concealed inside the house down a cellar stairway.  Authorities searched the house thoroughly after she failed to answer calls and was difficult to locate. Eventually, they found her remains.

Immediate investigation, stolen truck, and arrest in Wisconsin (May 2012)

Shortly after the killing, Martin Burks returned home for lunch and saw Dillon at the house, but not Vicky. Ryan Dillon told him she was out; when Martin returned later, Dillon and the family’s green Dodge Dakota pickup were gone. Ryan Dillon was soon considered a suspect by investigators, who treated the pickup as stolen.  

Later, a Wisconsin bystander reported an abandoned green truck on the side of the road; police found that the vehicle identification number connected the truck to Clark County, Ohio, even though the license plates and a recognizable red cap had been removed.

Officers found Ryan Dillon walking nearby with a backpack. After initially giving a false name, he was identified by scars and marks and arrested on a felony theft warrant while Ohio authorities prepared homicide charges and extradition, according to Springfield News.

Forensic evidence and preparation for trial (2012–2013)

As detectives processed the Burks' home and the recovered truck, they collected blood evidence and other items. The later appellate summary notes that investigators found Vicky’s DNA on clothing in a dryer, and Ryan Dillon’s DNA on other bloodstains, supporting the state’s theory that someone tried to wash items after the attack, as per the State.

A tee-ball bat that prosecutors argued was the likely weapon was never recovered, but medical testimony at trial described injuries consistent with repeated blows from such an object. 

In addition, records documenting Ryan Dillon’s earlier domestic-violence cases were gathered, as were materials from his computer use around the time of the killing. All of this became part of the evidence file as Clark County prosecutors prepared an aggravated-murder case for trial in 2014, according to the Dayton Daily News.

February 2014: Trial and jury verdict

In February 2014, Ryan Dillon was charged with felony murder, aggravated murder, receiving stolen property, and tampering with evidence in Clark County Common Pleas Court, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Forensic evidence, investigator and neighbor testimony, and information regarding Dillon's flight to Wisconsin were all presented by the prosecution. They contended that he tried to clean up the scene and conceal his mother's body after attacking her after discovering the active warrant.

Ryan Dillon didn't give a statement. His defense questioned the reliability of circumstantial evidence and highlighted the absence of direct eyewitnesses. According to the Dayton Daily News, the jury found him guilty on all counts in his mother's death as well as the related theft and tampering charges after about an hour of deliberation.

Sentencing and the 2016 appeal

The trial judge sentenced Ryan Dillon to life in prison without the possibility of parole for aggravated murder a week after the verdict, along with concurrent sentences for receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence.

According to the Dayton Daily News, Dillon's defense brought up his past mental health issues, including diagnoses of bipolar disorder and depression, but the court determined that he was competent and focused on his post-killing actions, like cleaning the scene and leaving the state.

In April 2016, the Ohio Court of Appeals issued a decision in State v. Dillon. The court ruled that admitting Vicky’s 2009 letter to prove premeditation for aggravated murder was an abuse of discretion and reversed that specific conviction, but it upheld Dillon’s other murder convictions and the evidence-tampering and theft findings, leaving him imprisoned for Vicky Burks’ death.

Watch American Monster season 13 available on Investigation Discovery.