An Arizona man on trial for the disappearance and suspected murder of his stepdaughter Alissa Turney more than 20 years ago is free after a judge acquitted him of all murder charges.
Michael Turney, 75, breathed a sigh of relief as the ruling came down in the Maricopa County court room on Monday morning after just a week of testimony.
Turney was charged with second-degree murder in the presumed death of 17-year-old Alissa, who vanished on the last day of school in 2001. Her body has never been found.
Devastated family members broke down in tears, including Alissa’s half sister and Turney’s own daughter Sarah Turney whose social media campaign for justice helped lead to his arrest in 2020.
After the prosecution rested its case, the judge granted the defense’s motion to dismiss murder charges against Turney, citing rule 20, which allows the court to issue an acquittal if ‘there is no substantial evidence to warrant a conviction.’
Michael Turney, 75, was charged with second-degree murder in the presumed death of his stepdaughter Alissa Turney, 17, who vanished in 2001. Pictured: Turney is wheeled in during opening statements at Maricopa County Court in Phoenix July 6
Alissa, pictured, was last seen in May 2001 at her north Phoenix home after the last day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School
Earlier Monday, the defense asked for the judge to issue an acquittal based on what they called a lack of evidence, claiming there was sufficient evidence that she ran away or proof that she is even dead.
Alissa was last seen in May 2001 at her north Phoenix home after the last day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School.
She had told her boyfriend at school that her stepfather was picking her up for lunch. Michael Turney told authorities that she left a note saying she was running away to California.
Alissa has never been found.
In 2008, investigators re-interviewed witnesses and ended up serving search warrants on Turney’s home. The search led to the discovery of more than two dozen unregistered pipe bombs belonging to Turney. He later served 10 years for those crimes.
Alissa’s sister, Sarah Turney, who has tried to keep attention on the case through social media, testified against her own father last week and told the court how he allegedly brainwashed her into thinking that Alissa was a rebellious teenager who ran away to California.
But over the years, Sarah said she grew suspicious of her own father and that as his renditions of what happened that day changed every time, it led her to search for her own answers.
When she met up with her father in 2017 and pushed him for an explanation, he wouldn’t give it to her.
‘He told me he would tell me on his death bed,’ Sarah recalled, adding that he said he would confess to everything if the state agreed to give him a lethal injection within 10 days.’
Sarah was only 12 years old when her sister Alissa vanished on the last day of school in May 2001. It was her social media campaign for justice years later that led to the arrest of her own father Michael Turney in 2020, despite a body never being found
Michael Turney is on trial for second degree murder in the death of his stepdaughter Alissa Turney, 17, who has been missing since May 2001 when he picked her up early from school
Alissa, 17, was last seen May 17, 2001. She is presumed dead but her body has never been found
In December 2008, police executed search warrants at the house where Alissa had lived with her half-sister Sarah and stepfather.
They found videotapes dating back to the 1980s, including surveillance footage from the house, but did not find any videos from the day she disappeared.
They also found a huge arsenal of weaponry, including 19 high-caliber assault rifles, two handmade silencers, a van filled with gasoline cans and 26 handmade explosive devices ‘pipe bombs’ filled with gunpowder and roofing nails.
Sergeant Cox said that during the search at Turney’s home they also found a 98-page manifesto, titled ‘Diary of a Madman Martyr.’
Turney allegedly accused the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers of being involved in the alleged kidnapping and murder of Alissa.
Turney’s plan allegedly involved blowing up the union hall in revenge, aiming to kill himself in the process.
He was charged over the weapons and explosives stash found in December 2008, and in March 2010 pleaded guilty to possessing 26 unregistered pipe bombs.
He was sentenced to the maximum term of 10 years in federal prison, but was released in 2017.
Yet, Sarah never gave up hope for justice.
Sarah shared haunting home videos on social media and started a podcast called ‘Voices for Justice’ – which began as a platform for Alissa then turned into an outlet to help other victims
Sarah Turney is pictured with her father, celebrating her 18th birthday at Disneyland
In May 2020 she began making videos on TikTok that focused on the case
In 2019, she started her own podcast, ‘Voices For Justice,’ which detailed their family history, events leading up to Alissa’s disappearance and a timeline of what has happened in the years since.
In May 2020 she began making videos on TikTok that focused on the case.
‘Believe it or not, it has become an important outlet for Alissa’s story,’ she told NBC.
‘I’ve received more interest in this case from that app in the past month than the last 10 years.
‘This is not going away and I’m going to make sure it never does. I still think of her as my tough older sister who taught me to be tough.
‘Now, I need to continue to be tough and use that to fight for the justice she deserves.
‘She deserves her day in court. And I’m determined to give her that.’
