A former prison guard’s ex-wife testified Wednesday that she thought she might be killed during a 2013 assault at the hands of her ex-husband.
Richard Greg Turner, called Greg by his friends, is accused of attacking his former wife at her Texarkana, Texas apartment, ramming her car as she drove down a highway and of threatening her at gunpoint May 2, 2013.
“I thought he was going to kill me and then kill himself,” said Amy Turner under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp. “I thought this was it.”
Amy Turner was the last witness to take the stand Wednesday in her former spouse’s felony assault trial. Texarkana lawyer Bruce Condit had just begun his cross examination of her when 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart released the jury for the day. Condit is expected to continue questioning Amy Turner Thursday morning.
Amy Turner testified that she met Greg Turner at a restaurant on the day of the assault because he wanted to talk about being tested for cancer. She said Greg Turner wanted to patch things up in their waning 15-year relationship, but she did not.
That evening, Amy Turner said she planned to spend the night at a girlfriend’s home because she feared Greg Turner. But before she could leave her unit at the Krystal Plex Apartments, Greg Turner kicked in the door and began hitting and kicking her, Amy Turner said.
Simone Watkins, a downstairs neighbor of Amy Turner’s testified that she saw Greg Turner punch Amy Turner in the head as he stood over her in the apartment and that he shoved her down a stairway. Watkins said Greg Turner continued to hit Amy Turner as she sat in the passenger seat of her green Kia while telling her, “You don’t put anybody before me.”
Watkins called police.
Amy Turner testified that Greg Turner ordered her to drive to his home in Hooks, Texas as he followed in his pickup. As the couple drove along Interstate 30, Amy Turner tried to flag other drivers for help, she testified.
A recording of a 911 call from a passing motorist was played for the eight women and four men on Greg Turner’s jury Wednesday. The caller described watching a red truck slam repeatedly into the rear of a green Kia.
Amy Turner said her car began to fail and fill with smoke so she pulled over to the shoulder. Once out of her car, Greg Turner assaulted her again and forced her into his truck, Amy Turner testified.
Greg Turner brandished a small semi-automatic handgun after parking beneath the Red River Bridge. Amy Turner said Greg Turner continued to hit her in the head and threatened to kill her before driving to his home. Amy Turner said that while in Greg Turner’s house, he placed a gun to her head and spoke of ending both their lives.
Text messages from concerned friends alerted Greg Turner to law enforcement’s desire to find his missing wife, Amy Turner testified. In response, Greg Turner ordered Amy Turner to call 911 and report that her house had been burglarized and her car stolen.
Amy Turner said Greg Turner then called a girlfriend to drive he and Amy Turner back to Amy Turner’s apartment.
“He told me we had to get out of there so he called his girlfriend,” Amy Turner said.
Amy Turner said she was dropped off a short distance from the apartment complex where a number of patrol cars, lights flashing, were present. Greg Turner was arrested later that night.
Members of law enforcement testified about finding the wrecked Kia on the side of the road with a badly wrecked rear end and smears of red paint in the damage. An officer who responded to Amy Turner’s apartment found a door knocked off its hinges, a splintered door frame and signs of a struggle.
Bowie County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jerl Palmore testified that he photographed Amy Turner’s injuries which included black eyes, facial swelling and bruises. During Palmore’s time on the stand, the state played a videotaped interview of Palmore and Greg Turner.
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Greg Turner said in the interview. “I’ve been working at Telford for 18 years and I’m very embarrassed by all this.”
In the interview Turner denies misconduct and claims Amy Turner asked him to pick her up because she upset that her apartment had been burglarized and her car stolen.
“I’ll be honest with you Greg, what you’re telling me is a bunch of bull,” Palmore said in the interview. “To sit here and lie isn’t helping you.”
Eventually Greg Turner asks for a lawyer and the interview comes to a stop.
Thursday the jury is expected to hear Condit grill Amy Turner on cross examination. If the jury finds Greg Turner guilty, the trial will enter a punishment phase. Greg Turner faces five to 99 years or life in prison if convicted of aggravated assault.
