True Crime All The Time - The Murders of Carrie and Steven Turner

Episode Date: February 15, 2021

By 2015, Carrie and Steven Turner had retired and had begun looking at homes in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for their retirement. They took care of Carrie's brother, Thomas Daley, who required constant care due to an intellectual disability. Thomas accompanied them on their trips to Myrtle Beach to look at houses. But, in March of that, the Turners made a trip to Myrtle Beach to try to help their son, Alex Turner, who had been arrested. Police found the bodies of Carrie and Steve Turner under the mattress in their hotel room.Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss the murders of Carrie and Steven Turner. This is one of those cases that will set every parent on edge. And, it will have them asking the question of how could a son turn on the parents who loved him and murder them in cold blood. Alex was a manipulator, a liar, and had taken advantage of his parents' generosity to fuel his drug habit. The details of the crimes he committed are haunting.You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetimeVisit the show's website at truecrimeallthetime.com for contact, merchandise, and donation informationAn Emash Digital produtionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

everyone and welcome to episode 220 of the true crime all the time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and with me as always is my partner in true crime Mike Gibson Gibby. What is going on? What's happening, man? Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Yeah. Trying to get episodes done and out. Yeah, it's a weekly thing. It is when you put out two episodes every Sunday. Yeah. The work is always there. It's got to get done. And you can't say, ah, you know, I'm going to watch a bunch of movies today and I'm going to put it off because then those episodes are not going to go out on Sunday. They will not. They just will not. Yeah. They do not put themselves out. Hey, we have some great support. Let's give some Patreon shout out. We had Kelly Lissane. Hey, Kelly. Bfo Fira jumped out

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This week, we selected Brent King. Well, thanks, Brett. Been with us a long time. We appreciate that long-term support as well. We really do. And actually, you and I just got done doing our weekly Patreon video. We did.

And audio. We put them out as both. And we started incorporating listener questions. So there's like a mini Q&A section now in our weekly Patreon things. And, you know, we forgot to do the vault for Brent. We did. Had to literally fire back up the camera, turn all the equipment back on.

It's a big production. It was a big production. Yeah. But we didn't want to leave him out. I felt horrible. We had some great PayPal donations as well from Pamela Cooper. Hey, Pamela. Karen. Karen.

Karen. Katrina Wilson. What's up, Katrina? And Janet Susan. Hey, Janet. So we appreciate. all of that. Gibbs right now we have a brand new episode out on Unsolved. We're talking about the murders at the copper dollar ranch. This is a very interesting case. I think people are really going to

dive into this with us. Um, so if you don't normally listen to Unsolved, I highly recommend checking this episode out. There is a lot going on. It really is. And there's a solved aspect to it because it's one of those cases where somebody was arrested and charged and all of that. I mean, this is a 1983 case that's relevant in today's time right now. It is. Yeah. It is very relevant. So definitely check that out.

Speaking of Patreon, we had a Patreon merch winner for January. And that was Brittany Just. What up, Brittany? So congratulations to Brittany. All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of True Crime all the time? I'm ready. Today we're going to cover a 2015 case from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A married couple, Carrie and Stephen Turner, were found dead hidden beneath the mattress

in their hotel room. Initially, police were stumped as to who could have killed these innocent people, but the investigation revealed that their son, Alex Turner, shot and killed his own parents. So I think that's not the mystery in this case. right? We're giving that part away right up front. Really, the mystery is what made Alex Turner murder the two people who likely cared the most about him in the entire world. Right. This case is full of surprising revelations. And it's, it's another one of those examples of how selfishness and self-destructive behaviors can manifest into a tragedy like the murder.

of Carrie and Stephen Turner. Carrie and Stephen were originally from Durham, North Carolina. At the time of their deaths, Carrie was 52 years old. Stephen was 61. They owned a local business together called Mayo Marina Mart. But Stephen was also the head of IT at the Durham Regional Medical Center, but he retired in 2014.

So if you think about that, it's a lot going on, right? the head of an IT department of any size is a demanding job. It is. And I am the head of the IT department at TCAT International. You are. Yeah. Luckily, we don't do anything on the international side. So you're not really taxed or called upon to jump into action.

But it looks good on my resume. It looks good. You got business cards. Yeah, I do. It's head of IT. But, you know, I think of a business at any size. You're talking about a regional medical center. That's a pretty high profile job, pretty demanding.

Well, absolutely, especially with all the health records concerns, right? Yeah, hip-up and all that going on. And then at the same time, they own this business. But in 2014, Stephen and Kerry retired. In the summer of that year, they sold the business as the start of their retirement, according to the news and observer. Dickie Smith, one of their former employees, described them as fine people.

Carrie Turner was a wonderful, wonderful lady. I always thought the world of her and her husband both. Angela Woods Hall family friend called the Turner's generous and helpful, always involved with their kids and sports. Another family friend, Debbie Zanes, describes Steve as one of the smartest people she knew. He could figure out any problem he encountered. It's kind of how you describe me.

Yeah, very much so. Yeah. One of the smartest people I've ever known. Now, I only know three people. That's still, I'm number one. But you're number one. Yeah. But Gibbs, I think, you know, as we're painting a picture of Stephen and Kerry, the two

individuals who we know are the victims in this case, no doubt. They were loved by a lot of people. They were thought to be really good people, hardworking. And they were getting to that point in their life where they should be ready to enjoy the fruits of all that labor, right? You put in 30 years or 40 years or whatever it is, however long you've worked, you've tried to save money. And now you're, you're going to try to enjoy it a little bit during retirement.

Isn't that the goal? That is the goal. Isn't that what everybody strives to do? The good years. Now, is it getting tougher and tougher? I think some people would say it is. Saving for retirement and all of that, it's tough. It's why I got my side hustle.

Magic Mike at the senior homes. Oh, so now we're at the senior homes. Whatever I got to do. I didn't know you had expanded from the main stage to the senior circuit. Times are tough. The Turner's had two children, Alex and Jania Turner. Alex was financially dependent on his parents. And, you know, he was in and out of the home. He had some issues. He was definitely manipulative. He lied. He had a pretty lengthy criminal record. And I don't think there's any doubt, Gibbs. He took advantage of his parents' generosity constantly using their

financial support, often to buy drugs. So for all the wrong reasons, I mean, most kids need help like paying their rent or, you know, Oh, sure. Help me with my phone bill or something like that. Yeah. But he's just needing it for his drug use. Yeah, I need a $100 or $200 here or there to make rent. And I think most parents, any parent, you know, that if they can financially, they'll help their kids out with anything.

Now, you know, the problem is if you have a child who has no direction in life, doesn't want really to have a direction, wants to do the wrong thing, commit crimes, do drugs, and they find a way to manipulate you, make you feel sorry, whatever it is into bankrolling their kind of lazy lifestyle. That can be a problem. Could be. Now, I'm okay contributing to rent if it makes sure that they don't move back in again. Or food or, yeah. Hey, if it keeps you out on your own. I love my kids, though. If you listen to this, I love you guys.

Yeah. The Turner's had experienced a tragedy. On September 14th, 2014, their home in Durham, North Carolina, on six mayor court burned down. Fortunately, no one was inside the home when the fire started. And the Turner's two dogs were rescued. I think that's very important because 99.9% of our listeners are animal lovers. Many are dog lovers. Right.

And so to hear that, that's going to warm people's hearts right away. Well, we love our pets. Yes, we do. Now, Carrie and Stephen were on a cruise at the time. The fire started just after midnight. The home was consumed in flames. I think it started somewhere in the main portion of the house, spread upstairs into the garage. I read Gibbs, the fire was so intense that firefighters couldn't even enter the home.

And part of the house collapsed on a leaking gas line. And that's not good. That is not good. You want to talk about a job that can be very scary. I know police officer, we talk about that. But firefighters get overlooked. think a lot of times for what they may have to do. Right. You know, people think of firefighters is often sitting around until something happens. And that might be true for periods of time.

But when something happens, something happens. Yeah. And you are ready to essentially, at times, I think put your life on the line. They, they are constantly training to be ready for those moments when they do occur. Well, because it's scary. Yeah. Right. You think about just fire in general. To me is one of the scariest things because think about this. Okay, there's a fire. We're going to go in and put it out. All of a sudden, nobody knows that the gas line is ruptured, is leaking.

And this whole place is about ready to blow. Then you got to worry about backdraft. Good movie, by the way. That's all I know. Backdraft. That's what you know about firefighting. Exactly. The cause of the fire was never determined.

and the Durham police at a certain point, I think kind of closed the investigation. What I do think is important and will become even more important later in the episode is that Alex Turner was a person of interest in this fire. The cost of the damages were estimated to be somewhere north of $200,000, just in property loss and about $50,000 worth of personalized. them. After the fire destroyed their home, the Turner's move from Durham to Roxabro, North Carolina. They were living in a home on Mayo Lake. Sounds pretty good. I know my wife would be all over that, living the lake life. But it's on mayonnaise lake. Well, Mayo. You got to take what you can,

you can get. I think the thing about, you know, Stephen and Kerry is that they definitely had dreams of moving to Myrtle Beach. and trying to retire and live by the ocean. And they had made a lot of trips to search for retirement homes over the years. Hey man, I love my trips to Myrtle Beach. Yeah. Yeah, I've been there a couple of times. I've been to Hilton Head too. But, you know, we've always had a really good time.

Yeah. Which is impressive for you, knowing how much you do not enjoy the ocean life. Yeah. Well, I don't go in the ocean. Yeah. But I like everything that comes with the ocean, seafood, things that you don't like. I like lobster, shrimp, crab legs. Yeah, you enjoy that.

A few years earlier, the Turner's took on the care of Carrie's brother, Thomas Daly, after her parents passed away. Her brother Thomas has an intellectual disability. And it was severe. He needed intensive care and supervision. And I think anytime someone goes through something like this, a little life changing, right, admirable, amazing that you would step in and take care of your brother. And I shouldn't say amazing. I think most people would do it.

Yeah, I agree. Because who else is going to do it? Your parents are gone now. Right. It's a love for another family member. But you can't argue the fact that it can really turn a person's life. upside down. It can be difficult. At the very least, it can be a major adjustment to your routines and, you know, even to your living space, depending on if you have to renovate and things like that.

Thomas traveled with them on these frequent trips that they took to Myrtle Beach, but I already mentioned it up front. Their final trip to Myrtle Beach, what was their happy place, Gibbs, this place that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives at it ended in tragedy. And on this trip, they went to bring their troubled son home. So we're talking about Alex. He had recently been arrested. Alex was a deeply troubled individual. He'd had disciplinary issues since he was in high school.

And in the years preceding the murders, he had had some pretty. significant troubles with drugs. As we know, because his parents kind of financed it. Yeah, I don't know that they knew they were financing it. I think they thought they were helping him. You know, again, we talked about it, but it's a fine line. You want to help your kids. But at what point are you enabling them to do something they shouldn't be doing

and really keeping them from going out and getting a job? and being responsible and doing the things that they're going to need to do for the rest of their life. It's a very fine line. Like I said, he'd been arrested multiple times and was currently on probation in Durham, North Carolina, this financial dependency on his parents. It caused a lot of tension in their relationship with Alex. Well, you know what? You're going to have that, right?

You're going to have the one parent that says, I'm not giving that kid another cent. And you're going to have the other one saying, but he's my baby. Yeah, you could have that. Yeah. And I'm sure there was some tension between the parents, but I also think there was tension between them and Alex because maybe they did know

that, you know, they had to have known that he was using drugs. If he's getting arrested for drugs, that's going to be common knowledge. So they at least at some point in their mind, had to know, hey, if we're giving him money, very likely he's using it to buy drugs. But Alex fled Durham, North Carolina shortly before he was set to appear in court on breaking

and entering charges. After he left Durham, he finished up a rehab stent at Wilmington Treatment Center and was living at a halfway house in Myrtle Beach. And then Alex met a girl named Chelsea Griffin, who's a key individual in this case. Shortly after meeting Chelsea, the pair were arrested on drug and weapon charges. And this was the reason that Carrie, Stephen, and Thomas Daly came to Myrtle Beach. They came to get Alex. They wanted to bring him home for his court hearing. And I think at the same time, they wanted to get him held, Gibbs. This was a kid who was going down the wrong path. He needed help, whether it was counseling, drug intervention, whatever it is.

He was not going to do well continuing to go down the same path. Yeah, but clearly the rehab center didn't help out. So time for the parents to step in and try to do something. When Carrie and Stephen arrived in Myrtle Beach on March 4th, they stayed at the landmark resort. an ocean front hotel in the heart of the city. But I mentioned Chelsea Griffin and the fact that she's a key individual in this case, we definitely have to talk about her. Now, most of the information about Chelsea actually comes from her.

She participated in an interview for an episode of the show Killer Couples. She's originally from Salem, Virginia. and from a very young age was a gifted athlete. She started playing soccer when she was three years old. And she was good. She received an academic scholarship to Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina. And she was the starting goalie for the team. But Chelsea transferred to Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina,

because she wanted to play Division I soccer. So obviously, that's a step up in competition. Sure it is. D1, that's the highest you get in collegiate sports. It's all ever played. Of course, because you're at the top of your field in every aspect of life. D1, everything. The problem that Chelsea ran into was that she didn't make the team.

So she had left Anderson, where she had an academic scholarship, to try to get a scholarship and make the team at Coastal Carolina. She didn't do it. So what's that mean? Now she's on her own dime. That was a big gamble and it didn't pay off, obviously. So as a result of that, you know, she moved into an off-campus apartment and she had to get a job to pay her rent and the cost of tuition. She ended up getting a job at a strip club in Myrtle Beach. Because as she put it, that was the highest paying of all the options that she found. Now, she refused to be a dancer. but she accepted a job as a waitress. Well, the tip outs are pretty good.

And you would know, being a waiter yourself at various establishments of the all-male review variety. I had to start somewhere. You did. You just don't become magic Mike. I mean, everybody has to work their way up. Exactly. I was just Mike for a long time.

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I love to be challenged. And I love that rush of adrenaline that you get when you beat a level. That's one of the things that really draws me to a game. That feeling of a compliment. that you get, you're striving for that level, and then you get there, and then you're on to the next one. It's a great way for me to de-stress between recording sessions. With Best Fiends, there's something new today. There's something new tomorrow, and every day after that. There's literally thousands of levels to play and counting. Plus, they have tons of cute characters to collect, so you'll never get tired of solving puzzles.

With Best Fiends, the fun never ends. Download Best Fiends free today on the Apple. app store or Google Play. That's Friends Without the R. Best Fiends. Chelsea met Alex when she was 19 years old. Alex was 23. This was in late January 2015. Alex bought a beer at the club while Chelsea was working and the pair struck up a conversation. He told her he was from Durham, told her about his family in that he was in Myrtle Beach working a job. He didn't really give her any more information about what type of work he did, but he liked Chelsea because he returned the next two nights and eventually asked her for her number. And I think the attraction was mutual because they grew close very fast. And eventually Alex did open up to Chelsea about his job. He claimed he was a

Department of Defense agent and that he was in Myrtle Beach working on a domestic terrorism. mission. The Gibbs sounds like something that you would tell somebody. Now, it would most likely be true. I would say mine would actually be true. Alex told her that after high school, he joined the army and was recruited for the special forces. But he said his past experiences traumatized him so much that it was affecting his performance on this new mission. He was tired of killing people. And he didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. You know what special forces people really hate was when people people lie. Yeah, when they act like they were in the special forces. Yes. Yeah. If you actually did go through all the training and you made it through and you became a member of one of those very elite.

Right. Special forces groups. Yeah. You don't look kindly on people who masquerade or try to pass themselves off. as being a member, but didn't go through any of it and don't have any of the training. Right. Just trying to take the benefit of their prestige. Yeah, exactly. The same goes with people who claim to have Purple Hearts or congressional medals of honor, you know, things like that. Man, people find out about that.

Yeah. It's not going to be good. No. You know, step back a minute, Gibbs and think about these lines, these stories that Alex is telling Chelsea, there's a lot going on here, right? I'm Jason Bourne. I've killed. I don't want to kill. I'm traumatized by what I've been asked to do. I've seen some bad things. I've seen bad things. I think, you know, according to Chelsea, she felt bad for him. She wanted to help him get out. I think one thing that might have been a red flag for some people was that Alex was homeless at the time. I mean,

he was living in a halfway house in North Myrtle Beach, but essentially had nowhere to go. So Chelsea let him move into the vacant bedroom in her apartment. She even offered to try to get him a job at the club where she worked. Alex agreed. But he said, hey, you know what? Anybody that is associated with me is potentially in danger because of what I've done, what I do. I mean,

this kid's really spinning a web here. I think what it did was it made Chelsea afraid to tell anyone what was going on. Because, you know, she didn't want to put her friends or anybody that was close to her in danger, assuming all these things that she was being told were true. Right. Where if she would have to said something to somebody,

I'm sure one of her friends or somebody she knew would have said, B.S. Yeah, we got to call BS. You know, let's call somebody and figure out if this guy's who he really is. So we fast forward a few weeks to Friday, March 16th, 2015. Inside room 1208 at the landmark resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a housekeeper entered the room and noticed that there were items left inside. The occupants, Carrie and Stephen Turner, were supposed to have already checked out. And I don't think this was alarming for the housekeeper. I think it happens from time to time, right? People leave things. They're in a hurry. They forget. Her manager told her to continue cleaning the room and just to work around the items that were left behind. But as she was

doing her work, she began noticing strange thing. And then right off the bat, she saw that the sheets were missing from the bed. And then she found what appeared to be a very large blood stain on the mattress. That's a big red flag. Yeah. Sheets gone. Okay. Maybe somebody had a toga party, whatever in the room. Big pool of blood. Let's get the manager. Yeah. And that's what she did. And the manager called police. It was around 2.30 p.m. when police arrived. They searched the hotel room, but they didn't find anything. And even one of the detectives, Gibbs said in the killer couples episode, they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary besides the large bloodstain. So I think initially they thought, okay, someone hurt themselves. Maybe they had to go to the hospital.

Maybe that's where they were now. But they secured the room so that when the occupants returned, police could interview them. And they waited. Hours went by. but no one ever came back to the room. So police grew very suspicious. I think they waited about three hours. And after learning that no one had come back, they went back to the hotel. And this time, they noticed a hole on one of the mattresses. And there was some of the inside stuffing kind of coming out. Indicating what they thought was possibly a bullet hole. And then they found a shell casing for a

Now, I'm not sure how they failed to notice this the first time they were there, but maybe they weren't doing a detailed search because they really didn't think it was a crime scene. I don't know. But I think by this point, they're changing their tune, right? So one of the detectives looked under one of the beds, and that's when they found two bodies under the mattress. There's some good detective work. Yeah, my thinking is always look under the bed.

It would be one of the first things I did. So this was nearing 6 p.m. When police found the bodies of Carrie and Stephen Turner. When they examined the bodies, they found several bullet wounds in each of them. Police confirmed they had a murder case and they began the hunt for the killer. Police learned that three people were registered to the hotel room, Stephen Turner, Carrie Turner and Thomas Daly. The trio stayed in room 12.

08 for 2 night. But police had a problem. They only had two bodies. So police had to find this third missing individual. They watched surveillance footage and saw three people enter the hotel room. They saw Carrie and Stephen enter. Probably not too hard. Gibbs for them to figure out.

They had their bodies. Right. These individuals on camera matched the bodies they found in room 1208. Then there was an unrecognized third person in the security. camera footage. They assumed that this was the missing person, Thomas Daly. They also learned that a silver Kia was registered to the people who were staying in room 1208, but they couldn't find the Kia anywhere in the parking lot. So police put out a be on the lookout for the car. Hotel record showed it was Carrie's credit card that was on file at the hotel. Carrey's card, her purse,

And Stephen's wallet were all missing from room 1208. They tracked the credit card and saw that someone used it about four hours after the bodies were found close to 10 p.m. at a Walmart in Surfside Beach. And I'm pretty sure I've been to that Walmart. You've been to a lot of Walmarts. I have been to a lot of Walmarts. And you know when you have little kids and you go to Myrtle Beach, there's always something that you need. And Walmart tends to have it.

especially at a Walmart near the beach because they've got the little buggy boards. They do. Carry more than our Walmarts do here in Ohio. Yeah. And they're open all hours almost. Yes. Detectives moved on to interviewing the hotel staff. They asked if anyone who worked for the landmark resort had spoken to carry Stephen or Thomas during their time at the hotel.

One housekeeper told police that when she went to clean room 1208 on. on the morning of March 6th, a voice from inside the room told her they weren't ready and asked her to come back later. Pretty common though, really. Yeah. I mean, I usually put the do not disturb on, but if I forget and somebody tries to come in, you know, I'll say, hey, come back later. I always like when you do that because when I go past your room and I see that, I flip it to the other side just to try to irritate you. I figured. I figured it was somebody and most likely you. Yeah. The hotel clerk told police that at 9.17 a.m. a male and female came to the front desk asking to extend the stay for room 12.08. These people weren't registered to the room and they also

refused to give their name. So the clerk told them that there was nothing that they could do. But if they brought down one of the occupants of the room, those people could extend the stay. The couple left and never returned. But police learned that this couple drove away in a silver Kia. They saw it on the surveillance footage. So now we've got a mystery couple, a husband and wife dead, and a missing third person. We've got a lot going on. Mordal Beach police are busy with this one. Crime scene and Investigators examined the hotel room thoroughly. They found only the one shell casing, which I think to police meant that the killer tried to clean up the crime scene before leaving, which I think is an obvious conclusion to make

pretty tough to have multiple gunshot wounds in each victim and only have one shell casing without thinking that the killer tried to grab up the shells or the casings and take them with them. But obviously they must have forgotten one. So you had detectives trying to figure out why someone would want to murder the turners. Like we mentioned up front, you know, these were people Gibbs who really had no known enemies. They weren't involved in criminal activity. Social media searches revealed that they were a relatively wealthy. middle-aged couple.

Stephen had a prominent job, but they had recently retired and had sold their business. Thomas Daly had no social media or really any personal online presence. They're not really surprised by that. No, I'm not either. My dad has no personal online presence as far as I know. And a lot of people, you know, of a certain age, I will say, are not as big into social media and Facebook. book and things like that. Some people are. Some people are on social media a lot. Some people in their 80s or 90s are eating that social media up. And they are. You just never know. The only real confirmation

of his time in Myrtle Beach was the footage of him entering the hotel. But there was no video of him ever leaving the hotel. Police discovered during their background check about the fire that destroyed the Turner's home. And they learned that Durham police, police had never been able to charge anyone for the fire, but they also learned that there was a person of interest. They thought the fire was arson and they believed that the perpetrator was Carrion Stephen's son, Alex Turner. That's big news. It's big news in the fact that it's going to put Alex Turner on the Myrtle Beach police radar, right? As a suspect in the murder. It's a suspect in the murders. Okay, we found out that Durham thinks he might have committed arson, burn the family home down.

We got to find this guy. We got to talk to him. Really, I think it was probably the break they needed to help them, you know, put some of the clues together because then they started thinking, okay, could Alex Turner have been the mysterious voice inside the hotel room who told the housekeeper to come back? Could he have been? And then, could he? He said, you. He said, have been part of the couple who went down to the front desk and tried to extend the stay. Right. Was he the individual that used the credit card? But they still had the issue of Thomas daily. That's a big mystery. Yeah. That's still a big mystery. You know, even if you have Alex Turner as a potential suspect, they still had no idea what happened to Thomas. It was Thomas involved

with whoever killed Carrie and Stephen or was Thomas the victim himself? Police went to the surfside Walmart and they viewed the security camera footage, which proved to be pretty interesting. It did. It did. What they saw was the same couple from the hotel. The ones trying to extend the stay. Yep.

Buying a TV at the exact same time the credit card was used. And even more interesting was the fact that Thomas Daly. was with them. So detectives now had two names to work with. Alex Turner and Thomas Daly. A background check on Alex revealed his criminal record. It also revealed that he had just been arrested on Wednesday. On Wednesday, March 4th, Alex and Chelsea Griffin were arrested in Surfside Beach. An officer saw their vehicle sitting near a gas station and the people inside appeared to be lost. When the officer approached the car, he smelled a strong odor of marijuana. He asked Chelsea and Alex to exit the car and he found an AR-15 on the floor in the back of the vehicle. He also found

a Keltek 9-millimeter handgun in the front. He also sees five syringes and some aluminum foil as well. Yeah, so a lot going on inside this car, right? You've got an AR, you've got a 9-millimeter, you've got what appears to be pretty obvious drug paraphernalia and you have drugs Chelsea had about one gram of marijuana on her and both of the occupants of the car had suspended driver's license so they were arrested and charged with unlawful possession of firearms, possession of drug paraphernalia according to Chelsea she got bonded out that morning and her father gave her father gave her money to bail out Alex as well. Yeah, and like you said earlier, this is the whole reason why Carrie and Stephen traveled

with Thomas down to Myrtle Beach. Yeah, it was Alex's bondsman who called Carrie and Stephen and told them what happened. That prompted them to take the trip. Police found out that Alex was due in court for charges of breaking and entering larceny and obtaining property by false pretenses from an incident that happened back in October of 2014, Alex had also pleaded guilty to a 2009 breaking and entering charge. He spent 45 days in jail and was on probation for a year. In 2009, his license was revoked. So, I mean, we can't list out all of his criminal charges, but these were just a few. And what really was

at the age of, you know, 24, pretty lengthy criminal record. Yeah, just an ongoing issue with him to fund his drug use. But I think the arrest record for Alex gave police really the final name that they needed to start putting everything together. And that name was Chelsea Griffin. Myrtle Beach officer shared the hotel video with the surfside police officer who arrested the couple a few days earlier, he confirmed that they were the same people and even was able to identify them by name. Chelsea's background check showed that she was a student at

Coastal Carolina University living at the Cove Apartments in Conway. Police searched Chelsea's apartment, but they didn't find anything. They did finally locate the silver Kia at the nearby Monarch Apartments. So they kind of staked it out, right? They were doing surveillance of this apartment complex where the Kia was parked. And police saw two people matching Alex and Chelsea's description. Thomas Daly was also inside the apartment. On Saturday, March 7th, officers obtained a warrant and they raided the unit at the

Monarch apartment. They sent in a pretty large SWAT team, Gibbs, and they arrested everybody inside. All of the occupants were taken into custody without incident, but apparently Chelsea was pretty aggressive. She was defiant during her arrest, screaming, I could never hurt somebody. You have no proof. I would never. That's probably not the right thing to say at that moment. Just keep your mouth quiet and get your attorney. Well, Alex did remain quiet, but I agree with you. So maybe the first part's all right, right? I would never hurt anyone. But then the second part is you have no proof. Okay. Well, if you'd never hurt anyone,

why would I need proof? Right. You wouldn't have to fall up with that. Seems strange to me. Yeah. To me. Police charged two other individuals, 20-year-old Grant Dollens from Columbia, South Carolina, and 18-year-old Roxanna Compan from Pottstown, Pennsylvania. They were both charged with being an accessory after the fact. Kumpin was also charged with possession of a controlled substance. Both of these individuals admitted to helping hide Chelsea and Alex inside their apartment. Alex and Chelsea were charged with two counts of murder each. So I think Gibbs police thought they finally had answered one of their questions, right?

Who killed the Turner's? they believed it was Alex and Chelsea. Why else would they be trying to extend the hotel stay? Why would they be using the victim's credit card after the time they were known to have been dead? But police still didn't know the full story. Alex was interviewed first. And, you know, he was pretty calm.

He was almost cocky slash confident. He explained to police. least that he went to a drug rehab in Wilmington. After that, he was living at a halfway house on 19th Avenue until he met Chelsea at the strip club. He moved into our apartment shortly after that. His parents and Thomas came to Myrtle Beach on March 4th after they found out he was arrested. They checked into the hotel on Wednesday and the family went to IHA that same day. It was at IHOP where his parents first met Chelsea. And according to him, they spent the entire time at the restaurant trying to convince Alex to come back to North Carolina.

Alex told police that he knew his mom loved him and said that she just wanted him to get his life together, right? Figure out how to move forward with a productive life. Hey, that's what all parents want for their kids. He said that evening he went to Chelsea's apartment. The entire night he considered going home with his parents. And then the next morning, he went to their hotel to spend the day with them. They ate breakfast together and they drove around looking for homes where his parents could retire to. He spent the night at the hotel with his parents the night of March 5th.

The family talked, smoked cigarettes. They watched some TV together. he said his parents were lying on one bed and Alex and Thomas were on the other. Alex had a handgun on him, apparently one that he always carried. He said he put the handgun under his pillow as he did every night because who doesn't sleep with the handgun under their pillow. If you're going to have one, I guess that's where you put it. I don't.

I have it in a safe next to my bed, but not underneath my pillow where I could make a certain sudden movement and it might go off aimed at my wife next to me. That would not be good. No. I don't think safety instructors would tell you to do that. But Alex went on to say he woke up about an hour later. Hearing the gun go off. He saw Thomas standing over his parents holding the gun.

And, you know, he's telling the police this story. Gibbs. And at the same time, he's talking about how he knew his uncle had been deteriorating. menally over the past few years, he had been getting progressively worse. So is he going to be the good nephew, huh? Yeah, according to his story, he is, right? Thomas is the bad guy. He's the one who took the gun from Thomas.

And when he looked at his parents, he saw that they were both dead. But Alex wanted to protect his uncle. So he took him and they left room 1208. From there, they went to Chelsea's apartment and they asked her for help. That's when Alex and Chelsea went back to the hotel room and they decided to hide the bodies under the mattress. He laid his dad first under the bed, then his mom. He said he kissed both his parents and covered their bodies with the mattress because that's

what you do as the good son, right? Give your parents a kiss before you lower the mattress down on. them to hide their bodies. Right. For what? A housekeeper to find who knows when, when the, when the stench becomes so great that somebody finally figures out your parents are under the mattress? That's how you're going to honor your parents, player, buddy.

Yeah. I mean, I think everyone listening knows that it's not a story police are likely to believe, right? They didn't believe it. Of course they didn't believe it. I mean, first of all, they didn't think that Thomas was. capable of such a crime. We mentioned it. He had a pretty severe intellectual disability. It was said Gibbs, he wasn't even able to communicate with police during his interview. Now, initially, Chelsea wouldn't cooperate. She requested her lawyer and refused to talk until then. But she did maintain her

innocence the whole time. On Monday, March 9th, 2015, Alex Turner, and Chelsea Griffin were charged in court with two counts of murder each. Alex was additionally charged with possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Both of their bonds were said at $50,000. When Alex was asked if he had questions about his bond, he said, I have the evidence to show my innocence. in this whole case. The bond seemed kind of low, in my opinion. Yeah, it's not, it's not a super high bond, $50,000 when you're talking about murder. I thought that as well. Alex was assigned a public defender while Chelsea paid for her own attorney. On the day that Alex was charged, he was supposed to be in a person county North Carolina court on his breaking and entering charges. So that doesn't look great

when you're charged with a murder on the same day, you're supposed to be appearing in another court in another state. It's not looking good for him. No, but don't forget, Gibbs, he has the evidence to show his innocent. This is what he proclaimed to the judge. Chelsea delayed her hearing until March 11th because she wanted her personal attorney present. Her attorney, Kirk Truislow, waived the bond hearing and opted to wait until May for the hearing with the circuit court judge.

But he also advised Chelsea to cooperate with police. And on April 15th, 2015, she had a formal interview with them. She relayed that on the evening of March 5th, Alex stayed with his parents at the hotel. Chelsea said she wasn't expecting him to return until later the next day. But she was surprised when Alex woke her up around four or five a.m. on March 6th. He told her, my parents are dead. He and his uncle went to the beach to smoke. And when they returned, his parents had been shot. Chelsea said she thought the turners may have been killed by secret government agents. And Gibbs, this is where she told police about Alex's job. You know,

all of these things that he had told her, this web of lies that he had kind of spun, And well, part of that that she relayed to police was that he said if he completed his last assignment, he'd be honorably discharged. But she said Alex told her that his commanders turned on him when he failed to complete his mission. Chelsea tried to get him to call the police. And I think rightfully so, Gibbs. Her reasoning was, hey, it's a hotel. There's cameras everywhere.

Yeah, you'd be cleared of any wrong. doing. She said he responded with no. Are you stupid, Chelsea? The people I work for already set it up to make it look like I did it. So again, I mean, the guy must have been pretty good at, you know, spinning the web because at the very least, I think he had her believing all of these kind of fairy tale things. Government agent. People are out to get me. Chelsea went without. Alex to the hotel room and that's when she saw his parents on the bed. And she told police that Stephen was essentially curled around Carrie as if Gibbs, he was trying to protect her. How sad is that? Very sad. She told police, you know, the blood was everywhere. But she added that she was terrified for her own life, her family's life. So she helped Alex hide the bodies. Well, if she's believing the story that Alex has told her up to this point, of course she'd be terrified. They packed up, took Thomas's belongings, and exited out the back entrance of the hotel.

So, you know, this is a conversation that she's having with police. And police informed Chelsea that, you know, Alex lied to you about everything. Chelsea tried to say, no, you just don't know Alex. Yeah, she's trying to argue back. But the detective said, no, you don't know. Alex, and that's when they pulled out his lengthy rap sheet. And I think at that point, Chelsea kind of knew something wasn't right. She was shocked. Yeah. This guy's not a Jason born. He's a criminal. Chelsea was released on April 19th on $50,000 bail. Her first court appearance

occurred on May 22nd. She professed her innocence in court. Dollens and compants. Bonds were set at $25,000 each with an additional $5,000 for compan relating to the drug charges. So, you know, when you look at that Gibbs, you said $50,000 was low. I think it is compared, you know, they got $25 each. Just for allowing them to stay in their apartment? For kind of hiding them or allowing them to stay there. Yeah. But yet these two are out on murder at 50.

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It doesn't really balance out very well. On Monday, October 12, 2015, Alex Turner pleaded guilty to the murder charges. He was sentenced to 47 years for each murder. But the sentences are to be served concurrently. I think, you know, one of the big issues in this case gives that a lot of people have is Alex has never admitted the motive for or the reason why he killed his parents or even really what led up to the shooting.

police theorized that he was worried about losing Chelsea. They thought Alex wanted to stay in Myrtle Beach with her, but his parents wanted him to come home. And as part of that, they threatened to cut off potentially his financial support if he didn't do what they wanted him to do. Right. Alex also wanted their car and credit card, but they refused. But I think the other thing that prosecutors learned was that his drug use had, ramped up in the time prior to the murders. And I think he began using harder and harder drugs. He even admitted that in his guilty plea. So in the end, I do think they believe it was financially

motivated, more so about the cutting him off. Well, eventually you have to make that decision, right? Do you continue to feed the bad habit? Or do you cut the funds off that feed the bad habit and just hope for the best? and that's what they end up doing. Yeah, I mean, he was 23 years old. As a parent, you love your child. But how long are you going to keep giving them money, especially after you've learned that they're doing harder and harder drugs? They're really kind of diving headfirst into this black hole of nastiness.

Right. Like you said, at some point, and it's a really tough decision for many people, But at some point, that decision has to be made that, you know, what, we can't enable you to hurt yourself like this any longer. So either he was thinking short term, get the credit card, buy some stuff at Walmart, the TV, sell it, take the car, or maybe he was thinking long term, that he wouldn't get caught and eventually benefit from the estate. I think it's tough to give this guy that type of credit.

I don't think he was thinking long term. Or if he was, he wasn't being smart about it at all, right? He did a lot of things that you would look back on and say, well, if you were going to commit a murder and the murder of your parents, you wouldn't do X, Y, and Z. Well, he did X, Y, and Z. Yeah, he did. So, you know, you kind of lean maybe, at least I do, a little bit towards the instant gratification, not putting a lot of thought into it, get the credit cards, get the car.

And again, if you're doing quite a bit of hard drugs, maybe, you know, that next fix or the next X number of fixes is really all you're thinking about. You know, the other problem I have with this guy is he was trying to act like he was doing his uncle a favor, that his uncle did this and he was getting his uncle out of the hotel. Well, he's doing him a favor. but at the same time pinning the murders on him. Exactly. And now his uncle who needed somebody to care for him doesn't have the right care anymore.

He doesn't have a loving family caring for him. Yeah, I think it's sad. And I really didn't find anything of, you know, what happened to him, where he ended up. I'm sure he's getting taken care of. But I doubt it's the same type of care that he was receiving from his, family. Yeah. On March 23rd, 2016, Chelsea took a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact under North Carolina versus Alford, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years. And you and I have talked about Alford pleas before. Basically, the defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges a jury would likely convict based on the evidence in the case against them. After her cooperation with the police, her charges were reduced to accessory after the fact. Chelsea received a sentence under the Youthful Offender Act, not to exceed five years.

She had to pay court costs. And under that act, she would be able to have the conviction purged from her record after five years. Pretty good deal for her. Yeah, I really think it is, you know, she was not a child at the time this happened. She was 19 years old. She's an adult. So it does surprise me somewhat that, you know, this youthful offender act kind of applies. Now, she did help the police tremendously. I don't think there's any doubt about that. And she did not

kill the turners. But she did some things she shouldn't have done. No, people will argue, okay, should she have that, you know, expung from her record after a certain period of time? Is she going to serve the right amount of time. That argument's all, you know, always going to come into play. She didn't do a lot of time. Chelsea was released from prison in October 2017. So obviously she couldn't have served too much time a number of years. Again, not a bad deal for her. No. She's trying her best to move on. You know, she's said that Alex has tried to contact her. She's ignored him, which I think, is the right thing to do.

Sure. In 2019, that's when she did her interview for killer couples. She made the statement, I hate myself every time I think about what I did. I didn't pull the trigger, no, but I was too scared to do the right thing. Well, Alex told her a pretty good story about who he was and why he was afraid and why she should be afraid. Yeah. And, you know, and again, you can debate whether she believed it. She didn't believe it,

whether her actions were all based on this belief that she was fearful for her life. But either way, she did the time that she was supposed to do. Yeah. Was it enough time? I don't know. I think you can always argue about that. I think what she said is the right thing to say. She didn't pull the trigger, but she knows that she didn't do the right thing.

Now, she's saying she was too scared to. Right. And maybe that's true based off, you know, the information as it's been relayed. But the bottom line is you didn't do the right thing. And you have to pay the price for that. And she did what she was mandated to do. I'll put it that way. Alex is currently at the McCormick Correctional Institution in McCormick, South Carolina.

he's not eligible for parole, but he's scheduled to be released in February of 2006. It's a long time away. Yeah, by my calculation, that'll put him 70, early 70s. Somewhere around there. You know, to think back at the age of 24 and just think about, you know, where you and I are now, think about losing those years. Oh, man.

Of your life. Now tack on another 25 or so. and think you're going to lose the next 25. It's a long time. But very well deserved because you took the life of two innocent people. And a lot of people would argue that it's not enough. You should never get out. Some people would argue that you shouldn't be on this earth anymore.

He got lucky that the sentences run concurrently. Yeah, definitely. Because he would have never gotten out, right? He would have died in prison if they would have. have been consecutive. But that's it, Gibbs for our story of the murders of Carrie and Stephen Turner, rough case. Anytime you're talking about a child killing their parents, those are scary.

It is. Because most of us listening have children, a lot of us do. And to think that, you know, you raised your children the best you could, you put so much time and effort and money and everything that comes along with. trying to bring up a child and that your child could make the decision one day to end your life. I mean, that's a concept that is very hard to grasp. Yeah. There's a mom or dad right now that just listened to this episode in a hotel where their kids laying on the other bed.

Yeah. Sleep well. Sleep very well. It is scary. Yeah. Because nobody thinks that their kids. would ever do this to them. Oh, no. No, why would you, right? Why would you ever think that?

The problem is there's so many stories of it. It happens quite a bit. Yeah, and I think that's what makes it very scary. We got some voicemails, Gibbs. You want to check those out? Let's hear him. Hi, Mike and Davey. This is Nadine calling from Georgia. My twin sisters, Dana left the voicemail not too long ago, but I wanted to return the favor because our birthday is coming up February 12th this Friday. And I was helping you guys to play on the podcast. So Zana, I love you. Happy birthday beautiful. And it's been amazing to have you in my

life for this time, all this time. You are my number one. Um, Mike and Givie, I love you guys so much. You're amazing. And I'm team like all the way. Both of you guys. Bye. Hey, that's amazing. But does she know that her sister said that she's number two? No, I don't know if she knows. Oh, okay. But so we just did an episode about a family member killing their parents. Yeah. And then you hear something like this and you're like, oh, okay. Love it.

Love it. You know, they have this great bond, this great love for each other. Right. My faith in humanity is somewhat restored. Yeah. By this one email. At least it takes a little bit of the bite out of this episode that we just did. Yeah.

So happy belated birthday, because this will come out a couple of days after her birthday. to both of them, right? Because they're twins? I don't know. Maybe. Did I miss that part? I don't know. Well, Nadine, thank you for the voicemail. Whoever has a birthday, happy birthday. Exactly. Hi, Mike and Gibby. This is Cassie from Georgia. I was just listening to the latest episode, and I thought it was funny about the Pump and Dash. I graduated in the early 2000s, and I had several friends that did that. I also, like Mike, did not.

not ever participate in such behavior, but I have driven away twice with the pump cord still attached to my car. Luckily, now, they don't charge you anything for it, and it remains, it's like tethered to it. So, yeah, definitely done that, but I just thought it was funny, and so I thought I'd share my input that it was still a thing in the early 2000s. I don't think it was quite as common as it was in the 90s, though. So that's it.

Y'all stay safe and keep your own time taken. Bye. Look at Georgia representing. Yeah. Yeah, the old pumping dash. So, you know, luckily she's, her driving experience was in the 2000s. Yeah. By that point, they had, you know, like we talked about, the breakaway hose.

If she was, you know, 20 years earlier, she'd be dragging that freaking pump down the street. There'd be gas spraying all over. But it's pretty dangerous. I imagine if you pulled the pump out. I would think so. But she did it twice. The cord, yeah. She pulled the end of the,

the hose with her. And it still has to be very embarrassing to drive down the street with the hose trailing your car down the side. I would think so. And even more embarrassing to have to turn around once you realize it and pull back into the station and say, hey, I broke your hose.

So this is. Let's just be clear. I would never turn around. No, because you would get out, throw it in a dumpster. Keep going. Yeah. Hi, Mike and Givie. My name is Lema.

I'm a student, 25 years old, from Ontario. And I just wanted to call and say that I really liked your podcast. I've been listening to it almost every day since I actually discovered it. And sometimes it filters into my dreams because I watch it at night, which is not so great. but I wanted to call to see if you would be interested in exploring an international serial killer story. There's a story about two women, their sisters, called Raya and Sakina, R-A-Y-Y-A, and Sakina's S-A-K-I-N-A. And they were operating the 1800s in Egypt, and what they would do is basically they would rob rich women and then kill them. And they did this with the help, I think, of a local police officer.

But yeah, it's a really interesting story. It was actually even made into a play, and it's kind of become part of comedic folk floor there. Yeah. And, yeah, so I just wanted to say that I really love your show. And even though I really like you both, I'm at Team Gibby because he seems like a goofy person. And I really like goofy people. Yeah, so I can't believe I forgot the tagline. But keep your own time ticking.

Thank you. Bye. Well, he is definitely a goofy person. I can verify that. I'm one big goof. So, you know, we've never done a case in Egypt. That sounds very interesting. I think some of the hurdles that we face is finding enough good information to make an episode.

But I'm definitely writing that one down and we'll see. Yeah, be cool to do it. We had no mailbag this week. So Gibbs, that's it for another episode of true crime all the time. So for Mike and Gibby, stay safe and keep your own time ticking. You know.