Desmond Turner found guilty on all counts

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The judge in the trial of Desmond Turner has declared him guilty of all seven murders in a house on Hamilton Avenue three years ago.

Turner faced 23 counts in all including multiple counts of murder and criminal confinement and a count each of robbery and burglary.

Judge Robert Altice said in his verdict Thursday that he found enough evidence presented in the past two weeks to find Turner guilty on all those counts.

( Click here to read more from our special section dedicated to the Hamilton Avenue murder trial. )

It was three years ago, in June of 2006, that Turner entered the house at 560 North Hamilton Avenue intending to rob the family members there.

When another family member walked in on the robbery and apparently tried to defend the family with his gun, Turner and another man started shooting, killing all seven people inside.

One of the three prosecutors in the case, Janna Skelton, said even though the prosecution team had initially sought the death penalty for Turner, she is satisfied that they dropped that option.

“The most important thing is he’s been held accountable,” Skelton said. “He will never hurt another person. That was the most important thing. I don’t need Turner to die to do that.”

Maria Flores, a sister of one of the victims, said she agreed that sending Turner to prison rather than executing him was enough punishment.

The defense attorneys avoided cameras after the verdicts, going out a back elevator.

The judge announced his verdicts one hour after closing arguments, which took up most of the afternoon.

Turner's sentencing hearing is Friday morning at 9:15 a.m. but it's not clear if the sentence will be handed down then. Turner faces the possibility of life in prison without parole.

The other man accused in the killings, James Stewart, is scheduled to go on trial later this year.

Closing Statements

In the closing arguments, Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi told Judge Altice, "In order to believe, judge, what they (defense attorneys) are selling, you have to suspend reason.

The prosecution wrapped up its closing argument by saying that Turner tortured and brutally murdered members of the family

But Turner's defense attorney, Brent Westerfeld, insisted, "Not one piece of DNA from that scene is on anything associated with Desmond Turner."

Westerfeld went on to argue that there was a rush to judgment in the investigation.

"Nobody in neighborhood said immediately after crime that they had seen Turner," said Westerfeld.

Defense Presents Case

The defense rested its case Thursday afternoon after calling several witnesses. Thursday morning, defense attorneys called one family member of the victims and other people from the neighborhood.

Two of the witnesses the defense called have already been witnesses for the prosecution.

The defense is tried to suggest that someone other than Desmond Turner had a reason to commit the murders on Hamilton Avenue.

It called Mario Albarran, the son of Emma Valdez, who was killed that night.

Defense attorneys asked Albarran about a fight he had had with some other people from the 500 block of North Hamilton Avenue during which he and his family had been threatened.

They also questioned Jennifer Scott, Mario Albarran’s wife. She also has children with someone else from another Hamilton Avenue family.

In their opening statement, defense attorneys said there had been a longtime feud between that family and her current husband, Mario. Despite that contention, Jennifer Scott told reporters she believes prosecutors are trying the right man (Desmond Turner).

Other defense witnesses from the neighborhood testified as to how dark it was the night of the murders. They said there were not the usual numbers of porch lights on, and that one neighbor’s garage light, which normally lit up quite a wide area, was not on either.