South Carolina authorities have arrested the father and stepmother of a 5-year-old boy found dead after a desperate search in 1989.
Justin Lee Turner’s father, Victor Lee Turner, claimed to have found the boy in cabinet inside the family’s camper two days after his disappearance., WCBD reported. He was captured on video coming out of the camper and declaring, “My son’s in there,” before retiring to the side in tears while deputies went into the camper.
The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office said it arrested Victor Turner and his wife Megan R. Turner, who was known as Pamela K. Turner in 1989, charging them with murder.
The sheriff’s office said its cold case unit reviewed the case and applied “new technology” that “is especially useful with serious cxrimes against persons.” The unit reevaluated evidence collected at the crime scene and the autopsy and submitted it to the state lab for further analysis.
“We have dedicated detectives who are committed to reviewing and investigating criminal cases where factors have prevented a timely resolution of justice.” Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis stated. “These detectives have worked hard to be sure that the life of Justin Lee Turner is remembered and that his murderers are brought to justice.”
The Turners were arrested at their home in Cross Hill, South Carolina, by Berkeley County detectives with the help of Laurens County deputies.
Investigators said that on the morning Justin disappeared, his stepmother told detectives she was in the shower when he left to catch the bus to school, but he was not on the bus when it came back in the afternoon, and she learned he had not been at school all day, according to WCBD. The neighbor who was supposed to meet Justin for the bus said he never arrived, however.
“Initially they provided information that he got on the school bus and went to school, but never got off the bus. That was not true. He never got on that bus. He never got on that bus because he was dead inside that house,” said Lewis at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Detectives believe the boy was killed inside the house and carried to the camper.
Investigators ruled out an accidental death in 1989, and the coroner’s office said the boy was sexually assault and strangled to death, WCBD said.. The case was ruled a homicide but went cold.
Media took extensive video of the search organized for March 5, 1989, and Lewis said the video was a key piece of evidence in the renewed investigation.
Victor Turner, he said, found the boy’s body “within seconds” of entering the camper.
“Rather than react to finding his son and personally checking for any indication of life whatsoever, the co-defendant instead backed out of the camper commenting, “He’s in there, my son is in there. Somebody’s hurt him,” an affidavit says.
The Turners became uncooperative as the investigation into Justin’s death continued and hired a lawyer who refused to let investigators speak with them.
Pamela Turner was arrested at one point but the case was dismissed without prejudice. After that, Lewis said she changed her name, and the Turners moved to Laurens County.
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[Featured image: Justin Lee Turner/handout]
