Fort Bend County prison guard Albert James Turner, who has been on the run since allegedly stabbing to death his wife and mother-in-law Dec. 27, was caught Friday in Concord, North Carolina.
Turner was found sitting on a bench in a shopping mall, and representatives of the U.S. Marshal’s Office said he had apparently been living on the streets.
Turner has been the focus of a multi-state manhunt since allegedly stabbing his 39-year-old wife, Keitha Frank Turner, and her mother, 66-year-old Betty Jo Frank, in what was described as a “very violent” manner.
Frank was pronounced dead at the scene; Keitha Frank Turner was pronounced dead at Oak Bend Hospital.
Several children of the Turners, the oldest 12, were in the home in the 2400 block of Chestnut Drive in Rosenberg when the murders occurred. Turner fled the home in a 1994 Honda.
The Turner and Frank families also had numerous friends and family connections in the Katy, Fulshear, Orchard, Simonton and Wallis areas.
As police were focusing their search on the I-10 corridor and Florida, where Turner has family, his Honda was found Dec. 29 partially submerged in the Chattahoochee River in Cobb County, Georgia.
Early Friday morning, John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted, was featured on the television show Regis and Kelly. Saturday’s episode of AMW, the show’s 1,000th, was going to feature Turner as the most recent addition to the U.S. Marshall’s 15 Most Wanted list.
Turner was also featured in a small segment in a January episode of the television show.
As Walsh was interviewed, photos of Turner were shown. A tipster in Concord recognized him and called America’s Most Wanted as well as the local police department.
The tipster suggested police focus on a few different locations – under a certain bridge, near a certain grocery store and in a mall. Within 30 minutes of receiving the tip, Turner was arrested by local police after he was found sitting on a bench in the shopping center.
Arthur Fernandez, a supervisor with the U.S. Marshal’s Office, said Turner had been drifting from place to place, most likely living as a homeless person. He was known to have been in Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina prior to his capture.
“He knew to lay low but people recognized him,” said Fernandez.
Fernandez also said Turner was a good candidate for America’s Most Wanted because he wasn’t a seasoned criminal.
“He wasn’t a drug dealer who had a lot of ties with criminals,” said Fernandez. “He was a church-going, regular guy who had a breakdown and committed the murders. People aren’t going to be willing to hide a murderer once they realize he is a murderer. We felt confident America’s Most Wanted was the best route for the investigation.”
