Chester Turner is an American serial killer and a sex offender responsible for the murders of fourteen women in Los Angeles between the years 1987 and 1998. For his crimes, the court sentenced him to death in 2014. According to prosecutors, Turner is one of the most prolific serial killers in the history of Los Angeles.
Before his arrest, Turner was a homeless man for most of his adult life. He also spent time in jail for unrelated crimes, even when he was allegedly committing murders. In 2002, he received a sentence of 8 years in prison over a rape conviction. During his jail time, officials conducted DNA analysis and established his involvement in several murders and sexual assault cases. Subsequently, in 2007 and 2014, he received two death sentences for murdering 10 and 4 individuals, respectively.
Chester Turner’s nickname was The Southside Slayer. According to NBC Los Angeles, 57-year-old Turner is currently on death row at San Quentin State Prison, California.
The 2019 Investigation Discovery show Evil Lives Here documented Chester Turner’s crimes in detail. The episode was titled I Was His First Victim. Its synopsis on IMDb reads, “Felecia Collier almost killed Chester Turner once. At the time, she was relieved to hear that he would survive. But years later, that moment would become the biggest regret of her life. If only she had just killed him.”
When was Chester Turner sentenced to death?
As mentioned above, Turner received two death sentences, the recent one on June, 2014. According to the Los Angeles Times, one of Turner’s victims was a woman named Mary Edwards. At the time of her death, she was 42 years old. After Turner’s hearing, Edwards’s sister, Dianna Bright tearfully said, “You think that you’ve gotten over the death, and then you get that call that tells you that you’ve got to come to court and everything’s starting over again. It’s like a wound that’s scratched up again. Now all of us have a chance to heal. We can breathe and move on.”
One of Turner’s attorneys was Jon Roberts. He said that his client was well-prepared to listen to his punishment. Jon Roberts said, “For me, that was sufficient evidence that he was trying to seek redemption in any way that he could. I don’t know how you do that when you’re a serial killer other than by getting yourself stopped. I think he’s definitely on the path to redemption, and I can only pray and hope that he finds it one day.”
Furthermore, the sister of another victim, Gwendolyn Cameron, said, “He’s an animal. He doesn’t have a soul,” she said. “He’s straight-up despicable. I wish I had the chance to just spit in his face.”
According to philchalmers.com, Chester Turner’s victims were, Paula Vance (24), Brenda Bries (39), Diane Johnson (21), Natalie Price (31), Mildred Beasley (45), Tammie Christmas, Debra Williams (32), Mary Edwards (42), Annette Ernest (26), Anita Fishman (31), Regina Washington (27), Andrea Tripplett (29), and Desarae Jones (29).
