BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—It is perhaps the biggest murder mystery to have ever rocked Berkeley County. This week marked the 25th anniversary of Justin Turner’s untimely death. At just five-years-old, he was murdered, his body stuffed in a storage bin inside a camper like a piece of trash on his family’s Moncks Corner property.
THE MOTIVE…
To this day—the biggest question has remained why? How could anyone harm such an innocent boy? And who? While not proven—it’s been long rumored that Justin knew something he should not have and had to be “silenced” before the secret, whatever it was, got out.
SEEKING JUSTICE…
Justin was not only strangled, he was molested, too. This little boy died without ever receiving the justice he deserved even today. His mother never got to see it also, having passed away in 2004. His grandfather passed away in 2003. In 2013, his grandmother also passed away while his killer continues to live and breathe among us without an apparent conscience.
If Justin were alive today, he’d be 30-years-old. His future was snatched from him in early March 1989. The Berkeley Co. Sheriff’s Office, the Berkeley Co. Rescue Squad and others actively looked for the little boy for two days before finding his lifeless body.
His body was eventually discovered by the boy’s own father inside a camper on March 5th, 1989, stuffed inside a storage bin outside the home he shared with his father and stepmother. They lived at the end of Horseshoe Road on the outskirts of Moncks Corner.
Ironically, some searchers who looked for the boy say the camper had been previously searched, leading them to believe the body was placed there sometime during the course of the investigation.
According to old reports, Justin was heading to a neighbor’s house a few hundred yards away to wait for the school bus. That happened to be a Friday. His step-mom has previously stated that she was in the shower when Justin left the house and stated his father was at work. Justin was found dead two days later, a Sunday.
WHAT WENT WRONG…
Many in Berkeley County blame a botched investigation right from the very start, which in turn, has allowed a cold-blooded killer to still live and breathe among us.
Rumors of an alleged romance between a member of law enforcement with another individual tied to the murder investigation certainly never brought comfort to residents of Berkeley County who longed, and still long, for an arrest and conviction in the case.
In the past, Berkeley Co. Sheriff Wayne Dewitt has stated that, “What we are facing, unfortunately, is the fact that there is very little physical evidence that had been preserved. However, that is not saying that the case can never be solved (just makes it more difficult).”
A PERSON OF INTEREST…
Deputies initially zeroed in on Justin’s stepmother, Pamela K. Turner. The coroner, William Smith, who passed away about 15 years ago, originally called for an inquest into the case.
The boy’s father and step-mom took to the witness stand during the inquest but invoked their 5th amendment rights not to speak.
According to an old AP article, Justin’s step-mom and father didn’t attend the first two days of the inquest and when they finally attended, they showed no reaction to the jury recommendation that Justin’s step-mom be charged with his murder.
Justin’s step-mom was charged with the crime nine months after his body was found and booked inside the local jail. She was shortly released on a $100,000 bond. The charges; however, were dropped in 1990 because of a lack of evidence. Victor Turner, the boy’s father, was never charged. To this day Turner’s step-mother remains a person of interest in the case.
His father and stepmother have since relocated to the upper part of South Carolina.
HOW YOU CAN HELP…
Someone knows what happened to this little boy.
For those with information on the case (perhaps you saw something or heard something), there’s still time to bring closure to Justin’s remaining family.
Crimestoppers offers a monetary award, $2,000 or more, for any tips leading to the arrest of a suspect in a criminal case. All you have to do is call them at 843-554-1111. Remember—you CAN remain anonymous.
You can also call the Berkeley Co. Sheriff’s Office at 843-719-4412.
A NOTE TO THE KILLER…
It’s hard to fathom how a killer can keep silent for all these years without the guilt eating away at his or her soul. For this person, this murderer to remain mum for such a heinous crime proves that he or she lacks one.
While it’s highly unlikely that the killer will read this article, if you do—do the right thing. Turn yourself in.
Prior Stories (1989-1990):
- In-laws dispute each other at slaying inquest
- Mom charged in 5-year-old’s death
- Stepmother held in murder
- Parents of slain boy sought in city
- Charges will be dropped in boy’s death
- Grand jury calls for looser law on testimony
- Little progress made on finding boy’s killer
- Lawyer says mother will be released
