An Arizona man accused of murdering his 17-year-old stepdaughter Alissa Turney is free after a judge cleared him of all charges due to lack of evidence in the case.
Michael Turney, 75, breathed a sigh of relief when the verdict came down Monday morning in the Maricopa County courtroom after just a week of testimony.
Turney was charged with manslaughter in the presumed death of his stepdaughter who disappeared in May 2001. Her body was never found.
Devastated relatives burst into tears, including Alissa’s half-sister and Turney’s own daughter Sarah Turney whose social media campaign for justice led to his arrest in 2020.
After the prosecution dropped its case, the judge granted the defense’s motion to dismiss the murder charges against Turney, citing rule 20, which allows the court to grant an acquittal if “there is no substantial evidence to warrant a conviction.”
Michael Turney, 75, breathed a sigh of relief after a judge cleared him of charges related to the presumed death of his stepdaughter Alissa Turney on the basis of a lack of evidence in the case
Alissa, pictured, was last seen in May 2001 at her north Phoenix home after the last day of her freshman year at Paradise Valley High School. Her body was never found
Earlier on Monday, the defense had asked the judge to acquit on what they called a lack of evidence, claiming there was sufficient evidence that Alissa had run away or that she was even dead.
Alissa was last seen in May 2001 at her home in Phoenix on the last day of her freshman year at Paradise Valley High School.
She had told her boyfriend at school that her stepfather was coming to pick her up for lunch. Michael Turney reported her missing, but told authorities she left a note saying she was fleeing to California.
Alissa was never found.
In 2008, detectives again questioned witnesses and eventually served search warrants at Turney’s home. The search led to the discovery of more than two dozen unregistered Turney pipe bombs. He served time for those crimes and was released in 2017.
Alissa’s sister, Sarah Turney, who has been trying to publicize the case via social media, testified against her own father last week and told the court how he allegedly brainwashed her into thinking Alissa was a rebellious teenager who had moved to California walked away.
But over the years, Sarah said she grew to distrust her own father and that as his portrayals of what happened that day changed each time, she began to look for her own answers.
When she met her father in 2017 and asked him for an explanation, he would not give it to her.
“He told me he would tell me on his deathbed,” Sarah recalls, adding that he said he would confess anything if the state agreed to give him a lethal injection within 10 days.
She also spoke in court about the difficult relationship between Turney and Alissa.
Sarah was just 12 years old when her sister Alissa disappeared on the last day of school in May 2001. It was her social media campaign for justice years later that led to her own father Michael Turney’s arrest in 2020, despite never finding a body is found. found it
Michael Turney is on trial for manslaughter in the death of his stepdaughter Alissa Turney, 17, who has been missing since May 2001 when he picked her up from school early
Alissa, 17, was last seen on May 17, 2001. She is presumed dead, but her body has never been found
Michael Turney, 75, was charged with manslaughter in the presumed death of his stepdaughter Alissa Turney, 17, who disappeared in 2001. Pictured: Turney is wheeled in during opening statements at Maricopa County Court in Phoenix on July 6
When police executed search warrants in 2008, they found videotapes from the 1980s, including surveillance footage of the home, but found no videos from the day she disappeared.
In opening statements last week, the prosecution revealed how Turney filmed Alissa in their home and how he had hundreds of surveillance videos of her.
Turney also tapped Alissa’s phone and reportedly made her sign a contract stating that he had never sexually assaulted her, the prosecution alleged.
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’s testimony that Alissa confided in him about an alleged incident where Turney put his hand on her leg, allegedly tried something, causing her to run screaming.
The defense has argued that there is not a single DNA or blood evidence proving that Turney killed Alissa. They also pointed out that without a body, there is no definitive proof that Alissa is not still alive.
Sarah shared haunting home videos on social media and started a podcast called ‘Voices for Justice’ – which started as a platform for Alissa and then turned into an outlet to help other victims
Sarah Turney is pictured with her dad, celebrating her 18th birthday at Disneyland
In May 2020, she started making videos on TikTok centering on the case
In 2019, she started her own podcast, ‘Voices For Justice’, which chronicles their family history, events leading up to Alissa’s disappearance, and a timeline of what happened in the years since.
In May 2020, she started making videos on TikTok centering on the case.
“Believe it or not, it’s become an important outlet for Alissa’s story,” she told NBC.
“I have become more interested in this case from that app in the last month than I have in the last 10 years.
“This isn’t going away and I’m going to make sure it never goes away. I still see her as my tough older sister who taught me how to be tough.
Now I have to stay tough and use that to fight for the justice she deserves.
She deserves her day in court. And I’m determined to give it to her.’