23 September 2021 :
Albert James Turner sentenced to life in prison after retrial for double homicide
Turner, 56, Black, was convicted by a jury of capital murder on Sept. 17. Turner was found guilty of stabbing his wife and mother-in-law to death in 2009. He was previously convicted and sentenced to death on June 7, 2011, but the case was reversed on appeal over a defense error. Turner was tried in the 268th District Court before Presiding Judge R. O’Neil Williams. Because the state did not seek the death penalty at retrial, a life sentence without parole was automatic. The case was tried by Chief Domestic Violence prosecutor Chad Bridges, Assistant District Attorney Lesleigh Morton, and former Deputy Chief of Domestic Violence prosecutor Sherry Robinson, who came out of retirement to return for the case. According to Morton, Turner was a prison guard who was prone to domestic violence. On Dec. 26, 2009, Turner’s wife, Keitha, left her abusive husband. Keitha and their 4 children, all under the age of 13, packed their belongings and moved into Keitha’s parent’s house on Chestnut Drive in Rosenberg. When Turner returned home to find a note from Keitha that she had left for him, he traveled to Keitha’s parent’s house under the guise of giving Keitha a gift. Keitha’s mother, Betty Jo Frank, prevented Turner from entering her house and refused to allow him to speak with Keitha. Around midnight the same evening, the children heard Keitha screaming from her bedroom. One child saw Turner walking out of Keitha’s room with a knife in his hand. Turner had fatally wounded Keitha by cutting her neck. Another child witnessed Turner stab a knife in Betty Jo Frank’s throat so deep that it severed her windpipe completely and cut into the bone. The defendant then fled the state but was apprehended three months later. “Statistics show the most dangerous time for family violence victims is when they leave their abusers,” said Chief Domestic Violence Prosecutor Chad Bridges. “Keitha Turner and Betty Jo Frank were murdered less than 24 hours after Keitha left the defendant.” A jury first convicted Turner for the crimes in 2011 and sentenced him to death. However, in late 2018, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction, holding that the defendant’s attorneys had to represent their client’s interests despite their expert legal tactics to preserve his life, Wittig said. In Turner’s 2011 jury trial, his trial attorney conceded guilt in an effort to avoid the death penalty while Turner insisted he was innocent, Morton explained. In 2017, another Fort Bend County jury was asked to determine whether Turner was legally competent during his 2011 jury trial. The jury found the defendant was competent during his trial in 2011. On Sept. 9, 2021, a jury was impaneled for Turner’s retrial. In addition to calling some of the original witnesses from the 2011 trial, three of Turner’s children testified against him in court for the 1st time. Turner testified in his retrial, continuing to maintain his innocence, though prosecutors say his story changed. “The defendant visibly smirked at his children as they testified and showed no emotions for Keitha, just pure anger,” Morton said. The jury deliberated for approximately four hours before returning a guilty verdict and bringing justice for Keitha Turner and Betty Jo Frank.” The prosecution praised the Turner children for testifying in court against their father.
