A South Carolina father who many years in the past was filmed discovering his son’s physique is now charged with the 5-year-old’s homicide, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office introduced Wednesday.
Victor Turner was arrested alongside his spouse, Megan Turner, in Cross Hill in connection to the dying of Justin Turner, deputies mentioned. Speaking at a press convention Wednesday, Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis mentioned that Victor Turner had strangled his son within the early morning of March 3, 1989.
In the afternoon of that day, deputies responded to the household’s dwelling in Moncks Corner. Victor Turner and his spouse mentioned on the time that that they had not seen Justin leaving for or getting back from faculty, the deputies mentioned.
According to a 2019 assertion by the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, Justin deliberate to go to a close-by home to catch the varsity bus with a neighbor, however neighbors mentioned that he by no means made it on the bus that morning.
Deputies mentioned that Megan Turner, Justin’s stepmother, was within the bathe on the time and didn’t accompany him exterior.
The search lasted two days and ended when Victor Turner discovered his son’s physique in a cupboard contained in the household’s camper, which was parked exterior their dwelling, deputies mentioned.
Archival information footage of the search exhibits the daddy peering contained in the camper earlier than breaking into tears and saying, “My son’s in there.”
“Rather than react to finding his son and personally checking for any indication of life whatsoever, [Victor Turner] instead backed out of the camper,” learn an arrest warrant cited by Charleston’s WCSC this week.
Investigators accused the couple of realizing “exactly” the place Justin’s physique was, describing their habits throughout the search as “deliberate” and “obvious,” based on WCSC.
Lewis mentioned that the crime scene appeared to have been staged when responding deputies first arrived.
Megan Turner, often called Pamela Turner on the time, had initially been arrested in connection to Justin’s disappearance, the sheriff mentioned, however her case had been dismissed with out prejudice as a consequence of an absence of proof.
Lewis mentioned that after her case was dropped, the stepmother modified her title and the couple moved upstate.
“Nobody that I’m aware of, from any of the family, has ever heard from them again,” Lewis advised reporters.
Decades handed earlier than investigators from the native chilly case unit started reviewing Justin’s dying in April 2021, implementing new forensic expertise and trying to find extra info on the incident.
Forensic evaluation and post-mortem outcomes revealed that Justin’s physique was put contained in the Turners’ camper shortly after his dying, and a ligature discovered at their dwelling matched wounds round Justin’s neck, based on WCSC.
Berkeley County’s public defenders workplace and attorneys listed for the Turners didn’t instantly reply to HuffPost’s requests for remark.
