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Ann Burgess, expert witness
The story of Connell School of Nursing Professor Ann Burgess, a psychiatric nurse who teamed with FBI agents to develop profiles of serial killers, has garnered headlines thanks to a book she co-wrote and a television adaptation that followed. But while the book A Killer By Design and the Hulu docuseries Mastermind detailed her groundbreaking role in helping law enforcement capture notorious killers, Burgess’ co-author Steven Constantine felt there was another side of her career that was equally compelling and worth sharing.
“There’s so many different parts to Dr. Burgess’ story,” said Constantine, associate director of marketing and communications at the Connell School. “In writing the first book, I assumed her story was just about the FBI work on serial killers. I didn’t realize the proceeding piece of it, which was her work with rape victims and how that had informed the serial killer work. And then another piece of the story was her expert witness and trial work, which brought her work with the FBI into a more public forum.”
Expert Witness: The Weight of Our Testimony When Justice Hangs in the Balance, co-authored by Burgess and Constantine, details how Burgess’ knowledge of forensics, victimology, and trauma—she and her colleague Lynda Lytle Holstrom coined the term “rape trauma syndrome” in the 1970s—have made her a sought-after expert in headline-grabbing cases from Erik Menendez to Bill Cosby to Larry Nassar. In those cases, and others not covered by the media, Burgess has provided testimony in court or psychiatric assessments that have played critical roles in shaping trials.
According to the authors, whether it is on behalf of the prosecution or the defense, Burgess’ quest is always for the truth. “I’m not a victim’s advocate,” explained Burgess in a recent interview. “I’m an advocate for science, nursing science.”
In the 1990s, Burgess was part of the defense team for Erik Menendez, who, along with his brother Lyle, was accused of the brutal slaying of his mother and father. After interviewing Erik in jail and reviewing the case material, Burgess was convinced that the Menendez brothers were victims of trauma and violence from their parents. While not an excuse, the defense felt it was a mitigating factor. Burgess was tasked with explaining the impact of trauma to the jury through her testimony.
Trauma, she writes, “can manifest in ways that are emotional, physical, behavioral, cognitive—or even a mix of all four. I’d seen the full spectrum of trauma responses, which is how I was able to recognize it in Erik and Lyle in the first place.
“I wasn’t trying to justify Lyle or Erik’s actions or portray them as sympathetic figures,” she continues. “I was simply trying to show that the boys’ actions, as illogical as they might seem to an outsider, made sense from a neurobiological perspective.”
That trial resulted in a hung jury, with the outcome falling along gender lines. Women believed the Menendez brothers, while the men did not, according to Expert Witness. At the retrial, the judge significantly limited the amount of testimony allowed regarding past abuse. Burgess did not testify. The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and, though resentenced in 2025, are still imprisoned.
Testifying in courtroom is daunting work, according to Burgess. “I put on my bulletproof vest. The one thing you don’t want to do in the courtroom is show any emotion, especially anger, because juries don’t like that. You have to detach yourself, which is what nurses do. As nurses, we must separate our personal feelings from whatever we’re doing within a patient situation. So I think that helped prepare me.”
The cross-examination is the most challenging part because the opposing side is trying to discredit you, said Burgess. “I still get ‘Well, you’re not a psychiatrist, you’re not a psychologist, you’re just a nurse.’”
“Dr. Burgess saw this book as an opportunity to dispel these stereotypes and tropes that are so deeply in the culture,” said Constantine.
Burgess says it is essential to approach each case with an open mind. This tactic served her well in the 2006 case of the Duke University lacrosse team members accused of raping a local woman. The media, with the assistance of a district attorney seeking reelection, had already found the men guilty as charged. After a thorough review of the case, Burgess was preparing to testify for the defense. She believed the accusations of sexual assault were false and was not surprised when the case fell apart and there was no trial. (The woman confirmed in a 2024 interview that she had fabricated the accusations.)
Burgess conducted a mental health examination of Andrea Constand, a woman who said comedian and television star Bill Cosby had sexually assaulted her in 2004. Burgess issued a psychiatric evaluation of Constand in preparation for a 2017 criminal trial against Cosby.
In her assessment, Burgess wrote that Constand had been sexually assaulted by Cosby and suffered from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.
The odds are against victims of sexual assault, according to Expert Witness: only eight percent of cases reported to police result in the perpetrator going to jail.
After the first trial ended in a mistrial, Cosby was found guilty on three felony counts in the retrial.
“Her case had galvanized and inspired a nation, proving that a victim could demand accountability despite even the greatest asymmetry of power,” write the authors.
Burgess hopes the book encourages others to step up into the role of expert witness—a vital one in the criminal justice system because, as the authors write, “someone’s entire life might hinge on whether [an expert witness] can explain something well enough for a jury to truly understand.”