A man accused of murdering his 17-year-old stepdaughter Alissa Turney more than two decades ago allegedly told her sister that he would give her answers on his death bed, an Arizona court heard this week.
The eerie testimony was revealed by Sarah Turney who took the stand this week in the murder trial of her own father Michael Turney.
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 Turney in 2020, despite a body never being found.
Now in her 30s, the Phoenix woman told the Maricopa County court how her father 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.’
Turney, now 75, is charged with second degree murder in connection to Alissa’s death. The trial is expected to last another week.
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
Sarah’s long journey to get justice for her sister went viral on social media. She shared haunting home videos and started a podcast called ‘Voices for Justice’ – which began as a platform for Alissa then turned into an outlet to help other victims.
This week in court, Sarah became emotional on the stand as she described her relationship with her older sister, who she said practically raised her after their mother died from cancer.
‘She got me dressed in the morning when she was there, and picked out my clothes, and taught me how to do makeup and do my nails,’ Sarah said through tears.
Sarah then recounted the day in 2001 when Alissa was last seen.
It was May 17, 2001 – Alissa had just finished her junior year at Paradise Valley High School and she was excited for the summer and a graduation party they were supposed to go to later, her sister said. But she never showed up.
Just before Alissa left school that day, she poked her head into a woodworking classroom to tell her boyfriend Jonathan Laakman that her stepfather was picking her up early, Laakman testified on Wednesday.
Michael Turney previously told Phoenix Police that he picked Alissa up early from her last day of school and they got into an argument over her desire for more freedom.
Det. Stuart Somershoe read a letter written by Turney that detailed the day, with the stepfather explaining that the discussion was also about Alissa’s alleged marijuana use and Turney’s concerns over her boyfriend.
They went home and Alissa went to her room, still angry, while Turney went to pick up Sarah from her field trip. When they returned, Alissa was gone.
Turney is wheeled in during opening statements at Maricopa County Court in Phoenix July 6
There was a note in Alissa’s loopy handwriting stating that she was running away to California
Alissa, pictured, showed no signs of wanting to run away and her family were suspicious
They tried to call her phone, which they heard buzz in her room. There was a note in her loopy handwriting stating that she was running away to California.
Sarah had previously told NBC Dateline that Alissa had dreamed of going to California. But to leave without her phone or without telling anyone was not like her.
In opening statements last week, the prosecution revealed how Turney had been filming Alissa in their home and how he had hundreds of surveillance videos of her.
When police reopened the investigation in 2008 and searched Turney’s home, ‘what they discovered was the defendant had literally hundreds of audio tapes of phone calls recorded over the years. Literally tubs of cassette tapes, tubs of VHS tapes,’ Prosecutor Vince Imbordino said.
Yet, they found no footage of the day Alissa was last seen.
‘There’s no video recording of them in the house that day. No video recording of them having an argument. No video recording of her leaving with her backpack. There’s nothing from that day.’
Turney also tapped Alissa’s phone and allegedly made her sign a contract in which she stated that he never sexually assaulted her, the prosecution claimed.
The jury later heard from John Turney, Alissa’s half-brother, and James Turney, Alissa’s stepbrother. But a judge ruled that the jury could not hear James’ testimony that Alissa confided in him about an alleged incident where Turney put his hand on her leg, allegedly tried something, which cause her to run away screaming.
The defense has argued that there isn’t any DNA or blood evidence that proves Turney killed Alissa. They also pointed out that without a body, there is no definitive proof that Alissa isn’t still alive.
Michael Turney was arrested in August 2020 and charged with the murder of his stepdaughter
Alissa is pictured with her stepfather, Michael Turney. Alissa’s mother had died of cancer
This week, the jury heard from Sarah on how she seemingly accepted that her sister had run away but that bizarre conversations with her father over the years made her suspicious.
She was then grilled by the defense who reminded her of her statements at the time of how she told detectives that Alissa was a ‘partier’ and a rebellious teen who likely ran away and about how they allegedly did not actually have a good sisterly bond.
‘You said that Alissa was unpredictable?’ the defense attorney asked, to which Sarah responded: ‘That’s what I believed at the time, yes.’
‘You told her she had a temper and made poor choices,’ the defense attorney said.
‘That’s what I believed,’ Sarah said.
‘In any of those interviews, did you say, ‘This is what my dad said? Yes or no?’ the defense attorney pushed.
‘I was brainwashed to believe a certain thing about my sister from my father,’ Sarah responded.
In 2020, just a few months after Sarah shared her story on multiple videos on TikTok, her father was arrested and Sarah was thanked by prosecutors for her tireless efforts to bring her sister’s alleged killer to justice.
‘I’m shaking and I’m crying,’ she tweeted when informed of Turney’s arrest.
‘We did it you guys. He’s been arrested. Omg – thank you. #justiceforalissa
‘Never give up hope that you can get justice. It took almost 20 years but we did it.’
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
In May 2020 she began making videos on TikTok that focused on the case
It was a Florida man’s confession to killing Alissa back in 2006 that brought her case back into the spotlight – but police concluded that Thomas Hymer’s description of Alissa was not viable and his story was false. He later admitted that he might have been mistaken.
And then in 2008, investigators from the Phoenix Police Department Missing Persons Unit opened Alissa’s case.
They declared that foul play was a factor in her disappearance, according to Sergeant Maggie Cox.
‘At the time, there were no signs of foul play or exigency based on the fact Alissa was 17 years old and had no mental/physical health issues,’ Sgt. Cox told NBC’s Dateline.
Sergeant Cox told Dateline that allegations of sexual abuse by Michael Turney prompted investigators to focus on him, after speaking to several people in 2008.
‘The totality of circumstances known to police prompted the focus on Michael Turney as the suspect,’ she said.
William Anderson, a detective with the Phoenix Police Department, said on Thursday: ‘Through that, we began to see this was not a runaway child.’
Sarah Turney is pictured with her father, celebrating her 18th birthday at Disneyland
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.
The high school graduate was planning her future when she disappeared without trace
Alissa, Sarah and their mother Barbara. Sarah Turney fought for justice for her sister
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.’
