A 25-year-old man from Indiana will spend more than three decades in prison for attempting to kill his girlfriend by “hurling” her in front of an oncoming train.
On Wednesday, Delaware County Circuit Judge John M. Feick sentenced Di Morriea Turner to 36 years in a state prison for attempting to murder the then-17-year-old victim.
According to the Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Turner was found guilty of multiple felony charges in July after a jury deliberated for less than an hour. The charges included attempted murder, aggravated battery, and domestic battery with a deadly weapon. Turner received credit for 1,714 days served from the judge.
Feick’s sentencing order listed numerous aggravating factors. He emphasized that Turner is currently facing two additional criminal cases involving the same victim, was out on bond at the time of the attempted murder, and has a history of committing similar offenses involving minors, such as battery on a person under the age of 14 and domestic battery in the presence of a child. Turner also stated that he had received nine incident reports while incarcerated.
“I’m very happy with this result,” County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman said in a statement after the verdict. “This verdict should send a message to everyone in this county that Domestic Violence will never be tolerated.”
In a release announcing Turner’s sentence, Hoffman’s office stated that the evidence presented at trial demonstrated that the defendant “pushed or threw his girlfriend in front of or into a moving train in an attempt to kill her.”
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, officers from the Muncie Police Department responded to a call on June 19, 2019, regarding a pedestrian being struck by a train in the 500 block of West 23rd Street.
When first responders arrived, they discovered Turner with knee and elbow injuries, as well as his girlfriend, who was unresponsive and bleeding from her head.
Turner was transported to a hospital by EMS, while his girlfriend was airlifted to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis due to her critical condition. According to police, she underwent a number of procedures, including facial reconstruction surgery.
While in the hospital, Turner agreed to speak with investigators.
“Turner told [police] he and [the victim] had been arguing all morning because she thought he had been cheating on her so she packed up some of her belongings and left the residence they were at when the argument took place,” according to the statement. “While outside, Turner and [the victim] resumed their argument, and Turner told police that he and [the victim] were both aware of a train approaching where they were standing. Turner also stated that he ‘grabbed’ [the victim] because he didn’t want her on the ‘other side of the train.'”
When the victim was able to speak, she told police that she couldn’t recall the incident with her boyfriend and the train. However, two employees at the station witnessed the incident and gave police statements.
“One stated it appeared to him as if Turner had [the victim] in a ‘bear hug’ when the train was close and ‘hurled’ her over his shoulder, into the path of the train,” according to the statement of charges.
After obtaining surveillance footage of the attack, police stated that it appeared that the victim “was trying to get away from” Turner before he grabbed her head and “moved her directly in front of the moving train, causing it to strike and injure [the victim] as well as Turner.”
