Woman, 19, goes to meet man, 29, after striking up romance online – only for him to ‘murder her and chop up her body before throwing in river’
- The torso of 19-year-old Sheryl Turner was found dumped in a river in Louisiana in January
- On April 23, Anthony Holland, 29, was arrested for the murder
- The pair had been romantically involved online before meeting in person
The body of a 19-year-old girl was found in a river in Louisiana after she went to stay with a 29-year-old man she met online.
Sheryl Turner, 19, and Anthony Holland Jr., 29, had been “in a romantic relationship following a test message” before Turner fled her home in New Iberia, Louisiana, to meet him.
The 19-year-old left home on December 31 and her family became concerned about her after receiving “disturbing” information from one of Turner’s friends.
Turner’s twin sister Sherry said the last time she spoke to her was before she “packed up and left without telling anyone where she was going.”
On January 24, Turner’s torso was discovered in the Ouachita River after a boater called the Catahoula Parish Sheriff’s Office to report a body floating in the water.
The body of 19-year-old Sheryl Turner (pictured) was found in a river in Louisiana after she went to stay with a 29-year-old man she met online
Anthony Holland Jr., 29 (pictured), confessed to the gruesome murder, admitting that he killed Turner at his home and dismembered her body before dumping her remains in the river
DNA testing confirmed that the body belonged to the missing 19-year-old. the Kansas City star reported.
Then on April 23 – three months after Turner’s body was found – Holland was arrested and booked into jail on a murder charge.
The arrest came after investigators searched Holland’s home and found “forensic evidence of a violent crime,” police said.
Holland confessed to the gruesome murder, admitting that he killed Turner at his home and dismembered her body before dumping her remains in the river, police said.
Turner’s twin sister, who spoke out about her sister’s disappearance and the aftermath of her discovery, said on February 25: “I will never understand why anyone could do that to anyone.”
Sheryl Turner, 19 (pictured), and Anthony Holland Jr., 29, had been ‘in a romantic relationship following a test message’ before Turner fled her home in New Iberia, Louisiana, to meet him
The heartbroken sister wished her twin brother a happy birthday on April 12. She would have been twenty. “Until we meet again, I love you forever and ever,” Sherry wrote.
When Holland’s arrest was announced, Sherry said justice had been done.
In Turner’s obituary, the family described her as “a shining light to all who knew her, with a kind and loving personality that radiated through her beautiful smile and touched the hearts of those around her.”