Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘The Dead of Night’ of NBC’s ‘Dateline,’ the primary focus is on the mysterious and sudden disappearance of a 31-year-old mother named LaJoya McCoy from her California home in the summer of 2015. A few days later, the worst nightmare of her family and friends came true when her remains were found a couple of miles away from her apartment. Weeks of investigation led the detectives to Jose Roberto Turner, her ex-boyfriend and the father of her children. He was eventually arrested and brought to justice for his gruesome crime.
Jose Turner Was Responsible For Killing His Children’s Mother, LaJoya McCoy
Jose Roberto Turner had dreams of making it big as an actor and playwright when he first crossed paths with LaJoya McCoy, an ambitious young woman. As sparks flew between them, the two began dating and soon moved in together. In the years that followed, they welcomed two children into the world. However, what seemed to be a picture-perfect relationship soon turned into a nightmare for LaJoya. According to her, Jose was abusive and controlling towards her, which ended up becoming the reason for their breakup. One early morning in April 2013, while the couple lived in Pasadena, California, they got into a heated argument that turned violent, after which she ran to her uncle and aunt’s place. LaJoya told them that Jose began choking her during the fight, but she managed to hit him back and escape the house.
Following the incident, she didn’t file a complaint against him but ended the relationship for good. Jose was not pleased about the separation and even allegedly made threats to her life. In the months that followed, he co-parented their kids and often spent time with them. Two years later, LaJoya, who had moved on in life and was a clothing boutique owner and an accountant with the County of Los Angeles, felt that she was being stalked. She believed that her stalker had even gotten into her house multiple times and moved things around. When she got a flat tire after Jose told her that he was in her area, she suspected that her stalker might be him. On June 10, 2015, the 31-year-old woman went missing from her residence in the 8000 block of West Olive Avenue. As the detectives searched for her and her missing car, the latter turned up in the 200 block of West Cypress Avenue on June 16. Inside the car, they found her remains.
She had been strangled with a rope and stabbed to death by the killer. When her ex-boyfriend and the father of her kids, Jose, didn’t contact the authorities about the investigation, they considered him a suspect and dug deeper into his life and past. They learned about one of his ex-girlfriends, Adriane, who also claimed that he was abusive towards her. Several weeks after the murder, he reached out to the police and asked if he could collect a few of his kids’ belongings from LaJoya’s apartment. The detectives agreed, but in exchange, they interviewed him at the crime scene and took a DNA swab from him. After submitting his DNA to the lab, it was determined that his DNA matched the DNA sample found under LaJoya’s fingernails and inside her car. Thus, on August 27, 2015, he was arrested for killing his ex-girlfriend.
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Jose Turner is Currently Incarcerated at a California Prison Facility
Nearly two years after his arrest, in June 2017, Jose Turner’s murder trial got underway. During the trial, the prosecution presented a series of incriminating evidence against him, including his DNA on LaJoya’s remains and her apartment. On the other hand, the defense argued that the defendant was innocent and his DNA being present at the apartment was not enough to prove his guilt. On June 19, the jury deliberated for eight hours and convicted him of one count of first-degree murder with an allegation that a rope or cord was used as a deadly weapon in connection with LaJoya McCoy’s killing.
Less than a month later, on July 11, 2017, his sentencing took place. Ultimately, the Pasadena resident, Jose, was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison for strangling his ex-girlfriend to death. As of today, the 57-year-old killer is serving his sentence at Folsom State Prison in Represa, California, with the parole eligibility date scheduled for September 2033.
