Bio

Melvin Turner was born in 1958. He grew up in Torrance, California. Not much is known about his family or early childhood. As a young man, he had some trouble with the law. He was in and out of the juvenile justice system during his teenage years.

Turner had some difficulties adjusting to life. He struggled to find a steady job and often faced challenges in his personal life. At one point, he became involved in activities that were against the law. This behavior eventually led to him being imprisoned for a while.

After he was released from prison, Turner tried to get his life back on track. He found a job at the Torrance Municipal Airport. It was during this time that he met Teague Hampton Scott, who would later become his co-defendant. Their friendship was not based on positive influences.

Turner's life experiences shaped him in many ways. By the time of his crimes in 1979, he was in a difficult place. He made choices that would change his life forever, but these events all came after the early years of his life.

Murder Story

On July 11, 1979, Melvin Turner and his accomplice, Teague Hampton Scott, went to the Torrance Municipal Airport in Los Angeles County, California. They targeted two people: Dr. George S. Hill Jr., a physician, and Joella Champion, a schoolteacher. After the victims parked their car and entered the hangar, Turner and Scott approached them.

The two men robbed Hill and Champion at gunpoint. They forced the victims to sit against the wall of the hangar. After binding and gagging them, Turner shot both victims point-blank in the head with a .38-caliber handgun. This left no chance for the victims to escape or call for help.

Following the murders, Turner attempted to use a credit card that belonged to Hill the next day. He was caught three weeks later. At that time, police found Champion’s gold chain hanging from Turner’s rear-view mirror, which linked him to the crime.

Turner was arrested and charged with the murders. In 1980, he was sentenced to death for his actions. However, his death sentence was overturned in 1986 by the state Supreme Court due to issues with jury selection. Turner was retried and once again sentenced to death in 1988. Teague Scott received a sentence of 52 years to life in prison for his role in the murders.