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- Nearly 20 years after 17-year-old Alissa Turney disappeared from her home in Phoenix, Arizona in 2001, her stepfather Michael Turney has been indicted by a grand jury in her murder. Turney was arrested on Thursday in Mesa, Arizona, and charged with second-degree murder, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced at a press conference.
www.nbcnews.com/dateline/stepfather-charged-murder-alissa-turney-who-disappeared-last-day-school-n1237554
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Barbara died of cancer when Alissa was nine years old, leaving Michael to raise the children as a single parent. [2] At the time of her disappearance, Alissa lived with her adoptive father, Michael Turney, and half-sister Sarah Turney. The other children were adults and no longer lived at home.
2 days ago · Watch Family Secrets: The Disappearance of Alissa Turney on Sunday, October 13 at 8/7c on Oxygen. The 17-year-old would never be seen again, but her sister, Sarah Turney, continues to search for answers in the new Oxygen special Family Secrets: The Disappearance of Alissa Turney, premiering Sunday, Oct.13 at 8 p.m. Alissa disappeared May 17, 2001.
- Overview
- Disturbing allegations
- ‘Taken away somebody’s liberty’
- Pushing prosecutors to dig deeper
In July, Mike Turney was cleared after being charged with the murder of his stepdaughter, Alissa — 22 years after the high school junior vanished. But his son has no doubt the teen, whose body has never been found, was his father’s victim.
“There’s no justice in the system for her,” James Turney, 49, told NBC News. “It failed her 100 %.”
Now, James is speaking out about the often misunderstood type of abuse, known as coercive control, that he said Alissa suffered for years — allegations that include intimidation, surveillance and psychological abuse. And he’s calling out Arizona prosecutors for downplaying what one expert called a “textbook” example of coercive control.
Although he has no expectation of justice for Alissa, James said he hopes she serves as a grim but instructive reminder to others facing what Evan Stark, the social worker who first defined coercive control, has described as a hostage situation aimed at erasing a person’s liberty and a predictor of fatal violence.
For more on the case, watch "The Day Alissa Disappeared" on Dateline at 9 ET/8 CT tonight.
James pointed to countries like Scotland, where coercive control has been codified in criminal law and the country has provided judicial training and support for victims, as a model of reform for the United States.
Other allegations of abuse came from several people who knew Alissa. Three different sources — including Alissa’s then-boyfriend — told investigators that she described Mike driving her to the desert and touching her inappropriately, Andersen said.
In an interview with police, another friend said that Alissa described waking up to her father gagging her with a sock — and telling her to remain quiet about the event because no one would believe her, according to a recording of the interview obtained by “Dateline.”
Mike has previously denied that allegation.
Alissa’s third-grade teacher told authorities that the teen once confided in her that she was having sex with her father. The teacher did not report the allegation to authorities because she said that Alissa immediately denied it. But the teacher confronted Mike, Andersen said, and he denied it, saying Alissa believed “sex is when people kiss each other goodnight.”
A year before Alissa disappeared, Mike called child protective services with a warning: His stepdaughter might falsely claim that he was molesting her, Andersen said. He also made her sign a notarized contract — "my statement about things in my life at home" — saying that he hadn’t abused her, Andersen said. (He made her sign other contracts that focused on drug use and behavioral issues, the detective said.)
“It’s a form of humiliation,” Andersen said of the notarized document. “It’s intimidation. With this document, Mike can turn around and say, ‘You can never accuse me of any of these things because you’ve signed your life away.’”
To Stark, who authored the 2007 book "Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life," Alissa’s case appeared to be an “open and shut” example of the abuse.
Stark, who wasn’t familiar with the case but reviewed the allegations for NBC News, pointed to the surveillance, the contracts and other aspects of Mike’s behavior and said: “Once you put all these elements together, even if you don’t have physical violence, you have the elements of a coercive control crime because you’ve taken away somebody’s liberty.”
More ‘Dateline’ cases
Coercive control that ends with a homicide, Stark added, means the pattern of abuse failed.
Coercive control is not a criminal offense in Arizona. Still, James believed it defined his father’s relationship with his stepsister and he feared the jury in his father’s case wouldn’t connect the dots between what may appear to be a series of unusual behaviors and what he described as brutal, systematic abuse, including filming her at work and routinely saying disparaging things about her.
During the trial, the Maricopa County prosecutor who delivered the opening statement, Vince Imbordino, said that Mike "attempted to basically control every part" of Alissa's life.
With the help of a forensic psychologist relative, James even lined up possible experts and emailed prosecutors potential lines of questioning they could pursue. But the prosecutors declined, James recalled, and said it wasn’t necessary and wouldn’t be effective.
In an interview, Imbordino said that he believed James wanted testimony related to coercive control to help establish a motive.
“That wasn’t our problem,” Imbordino said. “We had motive.”
It’s unclear what role expert testimony would have played in the case. After prosecutors rested — and before either side presented their closing arguments — Mike’s lawyers argued there was a lack of physical evidence and asked the judge to throw out the charge.
The judge agreed. Prosecutors hadn’t put forward "substantial evidence" to warrant a conviction, the judge ruled. Mike Turney was acquitted of second-degree murder.
Prosecutors disagreed with the decision but accepted it, Imbordino said. The statute of limitations on other potential charges, such as stalking or entrapment, have expired, he added.
Sep 15, 2023 · Phoenix Police Department. When Michael Turney reported his 17-year-old stepdaughter Alissa Turney missing in May 2001, Phoenix police believed she was a rebellious runaway.
Sep 15, 2023 · Alissa Turney Has Yet to be Found Leaving the Mystery Unsolved. Despite the fact more than two decades have passed since Alissa was last seen alive in May 2001, her fate unfortunately remains unknown — there’s no trace of her, her body, or anything else.
Aug 21, 2020 · Nearly 20 years after 17-year-old Alissa Turney disappeared from her home in Phoenix, Arizona in 2001, her stepfather Michael Turney has been indicted by a grand jury in her murder. Turney was...
Sep 18, 2024 · Sarah Turney was 12 years old when her half-sister, Alissa Turney, 17, suddenly vanished in May 2001. She never was able to say goodbye as Alissa disappeared on the last day of her junior year at ...
