Naman Shrestha
When a promising 17-year-old athlete named Shilie Turner failed to show up at a track meet in early 1993, the entire community of West Philadelphia participated in the search for the missing teenager. Things got worse the following month as her remains turned up in a park, leaving the community horrified and concerned. The entire case and the investigation, full of twists and turns, are covered in a detailed manner in the episode titled ‘Running for Her Life’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Mean Girl Murders.’ The documentary explores how the authorities connected the dots and uncovered the shocking mystery.
Shilie Turner Was Found Dead in a Park About a Month After She Disappeared
Shilie LaShay Turner was born on March 15, 1975, to Vivian King. Growing up in a house on North Edgewood Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with her mother, stepfather, Clarence Jones, and sister, she developed a passion for athletics. While attending William Penn High School, Shilie was a promising member of the high school track team. The athlete dreamt of not just winning a college scholarship but also representing her nation in the Olympics. Despite not having access to state-of-the-art resources, she was trying her best to live up to her potential of running in the Olympics. With a bright future ahead of her, the warm and compassionate teenager failed to show up at an important track meet on January 17, 1993.
As it turned out, she had been missing since the previous night, as her mother claimed that she had not seen Shilie after she left to spend the night at a friend’s house across the street. Without wasting any time, Vivian reported her daughter missing. When the authorities interviewed the missing teen’s friends and classmates, they found out from her best friend, Andrea McCall, that she had actually gone to meet her boyfriend, Shaun Williams. Andrea claimed that she lent Shilie a leather jacket belonging to her father for the night. The detectives learned that she was last seen just a few blocks away from her house in the early morning hours of January 18 after getting out of a bus. They also searched the nearby properties but couldn’t find any trace of her.
During the search for Shilie, her mother also took the community’s help to gather a reward of $6,000 for any kind of information that could lead to the missing teen’s location. After several weeks of extensive search without any result, a man discovered the missing teen’s remains, which were covered with a blood-stained tarp, in an isolated part of Fairmount Park in West Philadelphia on February 20, 1993. Upon inspection, the police reported that the 17-year-old had died of multiple gunshot wounds and had also suffered blunt force trauma to the side of her face. Thus, the missing persons case turned into a homicide investigation.
Shilie Turner’s Killer Gave a Chilling Confession to the Investigators
Since Shilie Turner’s boyfriend, Shaun Williams, was one of the last people to see her alive, the authorities brought him in for questioning. As per his accounts, they were together until 1:30 am, after which he watched Shilie get on the bus to return home. When his version of events was corroborated by the bus driver, Shaun was eliminated as a suspect. For a while, her track coach, Tim Hickey, was also considered a potential suspect. However, when he provided a solid alibi for the fateful night, he was also ruled out as a suspect. While interviewing him, the authorities learned that Shilie had a rough household environment. Suspicions turned towards her stepfather, Clarence, who was seen wearing the same leather jacket that Andrea had given her on the night she went missing.
When asked about the same, Clarence claimed that he didn’t know whose it was; he just found it lying around the house. On the fateful night, he was delivering papers, eliminating him as a suspect too. Alarm bells rang when the investigators noticed Shilie’s mother, Vivian, in good spirits during her funeral. While she was considered a suspect in the case, she also made a guest appearance at a radio show where she reportedly talked to the host, Mary Mason, off-camera about details of the crime scene that only the killer or a witness would know. Mary reached out to the police and reported the suspicious behavior of Vivian. In order to clear her name, Shilie’s mother went to the authorities and gave a polygraph test, only to fail it.
The following investigation lasted for over 10 hours, during which she broke down and eventually confessed to killing her daughter in a fit of drunken rage. Vivian told the detectives that she had been drinking when Shilie returned home over an hour after her curfew, which led to an argument between them. Soon, it allegedly turned into a physical altercation. According to her, she then took a gun and told her daughter that they were going to the police station. Instead, she alleged that she drove her to the park where her remains were found and hit her with the gun in the face before shooting her multiple times. Ultimately, she was arrested and charged with Shilie’s murder. Later, she claimed that her confession was coerced by the detectives.
Vivian King Has Served Her Time and Was Released From Prison
In November 1993, Vivian King stood trial for the murder of her daughter, Shilie Turner. Over the course of two weeks, the prosecution focused on her confession and the circumstantial evidence against the defendant. Meanwhile, the defense argued that her confession had been coerced by the investigators. She took the stand and claimed that she was innocent. In the end, the jury deliberated and reached a verdict, convicting her of third-degree murder in connection with Shilie’s killing.
Several months later, Vivian’s sentencing hearing took place on June 2, 1994. Still maintaining her innocence, the convict took the stand and stated, “I did not kill my daughter. I know the jury found me guilty of this crime, so I’m asking you to be lenient to me.” Since she refused to admit her involvement in the crime, the judge gave her a strong sentence. Ultimately, Vivian King was sentenced to between 10 and 20 years in prison. After serving her time, she was released from prison and reportedly continues living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, away from the limelight.
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