Burton Abbott

Abbott's wife discovered the evidence in their home's basement and Stephanie's body was found buried near the Abbott family's cabin. He was sentenced to die in California's gas chamber. On March 15, 1957, a (second) one-hour stay of execution from the governor of California was communicated to the prison just moments too late to halt his execution.

On March 15, 1957, the day of the execution which was scheduled for 10:00 am, Abbott's attorney appealed to the United States Court of Appeals and was denied. He then tried to contact the governor of California, Goodwin J. Knight, but the governor was on a naval ship, out at sea, and out of reach of the telephone. The attorney arranged with a TV station to broadcast a plea to the governor.

Stephanie Bryan was last seen on April 28, 1955, walking home from school where she went through the parking lot of the Claremont Hotel in the Berkeley Hills. A large-scale search failed to find her. In mid-July, Georgia Abbott, Burton Abbott's wife, reported finding personal effects which had belonged to the girl, including a purse and an ID card, in the basement of the Abbotts' home in Alameda. The basement was in the home she shared with her husband, their son Christopher, and Burton's mother, Elsie Abbott (née Moore).

On July 20, 1955, the victim's body was found by San Francisco Examiner reporter Ed Montgomery in a shallow grave a few hundred feet from the cabin, and Abbott was charged with her rape and murder.

Burton Wilbur Abbott (February 8, 1928 – March 15, 1957) was a University of California at Berkeley accounting student living in Alameda, California, who was convicted in November 1955 of the rape and murder of 14-year-old Stephanie Bryan.