Naman Shrestha
Matthew Trussler had a lot to look forward to, including his wedding to his fiancée and turning a new leaf in his life. However, fate intervened and cut his promising life short in October 2019. His untimely and brutal murder rocked the entire community to its core, with his loved ones feeling the brunt of it. The investigation that ensued brought several dark secrets to the surface, leading the authorities to the perpetrator responsible for the crime. CBS’ ’48 Hours: Melissa Turner’s Closing Act’ chronicles the entire case in detail with the help of insightful interviews with Matthew’s family and the officials linked to the investigation.
Matthew Trussler Was Found Dead by the Pool of His House
Margaret Mary McLaughlin and David C Trussler welcomed Matthew Trussler into their lives on January 11, 1994. The pair raised him and his older brother, Sean, in a warm and supportive household in Hopkinton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. While growing up in a loving environment, Matthew learned the significance of values such as compassion, hard work, and perseverance. Touted as the life of the party, those who knew him described him as a confident individual who lifted the spirit of any room he walked into. In 2015, he decided to relocate to Florida to work in the construction business alongside his brother, Sean, who was already in the state. He wanted to build a reputable career and was determined to work hard for it. Despite his resilience, Matthew reportedly battled issues stemming from substance use.
In April 2017, Matthew stumbled upon Melissa Turner on Tinder. The romantic spark between them was so strong that it didn’t take long for the two to get into a relationship. After several months of dating, they bought a house of their own — a beautiful two-story home with a pool in the quaint neighborhood of Riverview. As per the show, sometime in Fall 2019, the two took another step in their relationship and got engaged. Everything seemed to be going fine for the pair until Matthew’s life came to an abrupt end. On October 17, 2019, the duo headed out to run some errands at a local Home Depot and Publix. After getting back home, they had their lunch and spent the rest of the day at home. Unfortunately, it was the last time Matthew was seen alive.
The subsequent morning, Melissa frantically called 911 to report she had found Matthew dead in their backyard by the pool. While she was directed to try giving him CPR, it was in vain, as many hours had passed since his death. When the police arrived at their residence, they were startled to see the 26-year-old “covered in blood.” As they searched the rest of the house, they discovered pieces of glass and knives. Per the officers, the young man suffered heavy blood loss in the kitchen but somehow managed to reach the patio, where he succumbed to his injuries. The autopsy results turned up on November 7, divulging that Matthew was stabbed in the chest and back. The examiners also found defensive injuries on his arms. It confirmed a severed artery, resulting from a deep cut on his right bicep, was the cause of Matthew’s death.
The Killer Claimed Self-Defense During Interrogation
As part of the investigation, the detectives questioned Matthew Trussler’s fiancée, Melissa Turner, who claimed that he had a tendency to harm himself. She said, “He always told me he had a feeling he was gonna die young.” Since he had a stab wound on his back, suicide was ruled out by the authorities. Upon digging deeper into the relationship between Matthew and Melissa, the investigators learned that the latter performed as a cam girl who engaged in sexual acts for the camera, with lots of fans. She also reportedly included Matthew in a few explicit videos. The authorities also talked to his family, who suspected his fiancée of being controlling in nature and keeping him away from his loved ones.
In the days leading up to his murder, Matthew had been getting drunk a lot, which allegedly made Melissa angry at him. Although the authorities suspected her of being involved in the crime, they lacked evidence to tie her to it until they went through the surveillance footage of a neighbor’s security camera, which overlooked the Turner residence. The recording captured a loud argument between the couple around 4:30 am on the fateful morning, with her telling him to die. Just a couple of hours after the 911 call, Melissa was questioned by the police. During the interview, she claimed that she and he had drunk the previous night and fallen asleep. According to her, when she woke up a few hours later, she found him dead.
Melissa Turner Was Ultimately Brought to Justice in 2022
When the detectives confronted Melissa Turner about the recorded argument, she pretended not to remember it at all. They also asked her about a cut on her neck and a wound on her hand, but she refused to provide any explanation. As they pressed her, she admitted, “He woke me up and we got in an argument over that, because he was still up at four in the morning drinking.” She also told them that the argument got heated, after which Matthew allegedly strangled her. As per her accounts, she then stabbed him with a knife in self-defense. Nearly a couple of months later, the investigators found another critical piece of evidence in the form of an ADT camera that had recorded the couple’s movements on the night of the murder.
The ADT videos showed that Melissa was the aggressor while he was walking unarmed inside the property. It also showed that she got the large slice on her hand while attacking Matthew. Despite her claims of self-defense, the authorities arrested and charged her with second-degree murder with a weapon. After several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her trial commenced on February 14, 2022. Her defense attorney alleged that Matthew was an “alcoholic” who “took advantage of Melissa in every way possible.”
During the trial, Melissa also testified on her own behalf, claiming that she loved him and stating, “I thought he was going to kill me, and I was trying to get him to stop.” The defense tried to argue that the audio recording of the neighbor’s camera was manipulated by the prosecution, but the court allowed it to be used as evidence. Finally, on February 18, 2022, Melissa Turner was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20.5 years in prison for the same.
Read More: Where is Melissa Turner Now? Update on Matthew Trussler’s Fiancée
