14x20 - Funeral Services

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Up next...

The m*rder of a funeral
director.

It just didn't make sense.

It didn't ring clear at all.

Cellphone records
provided some important

evidence...

There was a whole lot more to
this story than what was

originally thought.

But a homemade
mask found near the scene

indicated the victim and k*ller
knew one another.

I'm thinking, "we've messed
something up somewhere.

We've made a mistake."

In the small town
of navasota, Texas,

Lonnie Turner was an important
figure.

Lonnie was the owner-operator
of a local funeral home there in

navasota.

He was a well-respected member
of the community at large.

He would help the needy.

I mean, if you didn't have money
or you didn't have insurance to

take care of a service, he would
tote the note for you.

A lot of times, he went unpaid.

And Lonnie was one
of the first African-American

members of the city council and
the school board.

He broke down a lot of racial
barriers... good businessman,

all-around good guy.

One November night
shortly before midnight,

Lonnie's son arrived home and
discovered the light bulb had

been unscrewed near the door on
the back porch.

He noticed that the TV's on
in the den, the lights were on,

and he goes back to his dad's
room.

He saw lights on
under his father's bedroom door,

which was unusual for this time
of night...

So he looked inside.

He noticed what appeared to

be some blood on the wall.

He saw that his father was there
in an area between the edge of

the bed and the bedroom wall.

He gets scared and he runs to
his room and he lifts up his

mattress to get a g*n.

Then he ran outside
and called police.

Then he ran outside
and called police.

In a panic, Lonnie Jr. got in
his car and drove to the police

station.

When police arrived at the

turners' home a short time
later, the victim's brother,

Lawson, answered the door.

Sir, step out here, please.

Come here. Step out. Step out.

Lawson said he'd
just arrived, and when he got

there, he hadn't seen his
brother or his nephew,

Lonnie Jr.
My brother lives here.

And so he was gonna stay with
his brother overnight.

Anyone home?

And he goes through the house
and he doesn't see Lonnie sr...

Lonnie?

So he's thinking he's out on
a call, so he was gonna go ahead

and get ready for bed 'cause he
had to get up the next morning.

They took him out and treated
him as if he may be the sh**t.

Police found
Lonnie sr. Dead on the floor of

his bedroom... sh*t twice at
close range.

They found two spent



In the police cruiser, officers
told Lawson that his brother had

been m*rder*d.

Oh, no!

I was out there that night,
and he just... he cried like a

baby.

He was extremely upset.

Police found no
signs of forced entry.

Nothing was stolen, even though
there was $7,000 in cash in a

safe in an adjacent room.

The safe was actually open.

There were firearms all over the
house, and none of those items

seemed to have been touched.

At the police
station, the victim's son,

Lonnie Jr., told police he had
no idea who would have done

this.

But police were confused by the
stories given by the victim's

brother, Lawson, and by the
victim's son, who'd left the

scene after calling police...
And those stories were about to

get even stranger.

Virtually everyone
on the navasota, Texas, police

force knew Lonnie Turner.

He ran the town's most
successful funeral home and was

a civic leader.

We spent time at the funeral
homes, we respected him and

respected the fact that he was
not only a friend to us but he

was a leader and a role model.

The crime scene
gave every indication that

Lonnie was in bed asleep, but
woke up, saw he was in danger,

and lifted his arm to protect
himself.

The first sh*t hit

him in the forearm.

As the sh**ting began, he had
actually rolled to his left

during the sh**ting and rolled
completely off the bed.

The second sh*t hit

him in the chest.

You start looking at people
that knew him or had a reason to

k*ll him.

Investigators were
troubled by the movements of the

victim's son, Lonnie Jr., and
the victim's brother, Lawson, on

the night of the m*rder.

Lonnie Jr. said he came home,
found his father injured in the

bedroom, then grabbed his g*n
and cellphone, called police,

and drove to the police station.

By his own admission, Lonnie
said he called police without

even checking to see if his
father was still alive.

We started asking him, "well,
why didn't you go check on your

dad?"
You know, "was he still

breathing?

Was he trying to say anything to
you?"

And Lonnie didn't even do that.

It just didn't make sense.

It didn't ring clear at all.

It was one of the strangest
stories I've had from a m*rder

suspect, and there have been
some pretty strange stories.

Even stranger was
what happened next, shortly

after Lonnie Jr. left, but
before police arrived.

The victim's brother, Lawson,
claimed he arrived from out of

town and let himself into the
house.

He was gonna stay with his
brother overnight.

Lawson was scheduled to referee
college football...

Anyone home?

In Houston the next day.

Lonnie?

When he heard no
answer, he assumed his brother

was out on a funeral call,
picking up a body.

So when police arrived, he was

completely unaware a crime had
been committed.

Lonnie Turner was k*lled with a


Interestingly, police found a


under Lonnie Jr.'s mattress in
his bedroom.

b*ll*ts test-fired from that g*n
were compared to a b*llet

recovered from Lonnie sr.'S
body.

And I was able to determine
that the questioned b*llet from

autopsy was fired in the
submitted Taurus p*stol.

Fingerprints on
that g*n matched Lonnie Jr.'s.

When questioned, Lonnie told
police he wasn't surprised his


m*rder w*apon.

He claimed the g*n had been
stolen two weeks earlier.

We thought that that was kind
of strange.

He never reported that g*n
stolen to law enforcement, and

it all of a sudden reappears
underneath the mattress in the

house.

Police performed a
g*nsh*t-residue test on both the

victim's brother, Lawson, and
the victim's son, Lonnie Jr.

Lawson tested negative.

He also passed a polygraph.

And he had no motive, no real
reason for him to have sh*t his

brother.

But g*nsh*t residue
was found on Lonnie's hands.

He said this probably happened
because he grabbed his

.38-caliber handgun for
protection before calling

police.

To check Lonnie's alibi,
investigators first had to

estimate the time of his
father's m*rder.

When we started checking to
see who last spoke to

Lonnie sr., we determined that
he spoke to a female friend of

his around 9:15.

And when Lawson
tried to call his brother,

Lonnie sr., around 10:00 P.M.,
there was no answer.

So we believe the death to be
between 9:15 and 10:00.

Lonnie Jr. said he
had an alibi for the entire

evening, including between 9:15
and 10:00 P.M.

Lonnie claimed he was at a
restaurant with his girlfriend,

then went to his girlfriend's
house.

His presence was verified
both at the restaurant, at his

girlfriend's house, and he left
his girlfriend's house somewhere

around 9:40, 9:45 that night.

And from there, he
went to the local car wash.

It appears that he, per his
father's instructions, took the

suburban to a car wash there and
washed the suburban.

And we've actually had some
witnesses that verified that

information, also.

But Lonnie refused
to take a polygraph.

He was starting to feel the
heat and knew he was a suspect

at that point.

The day after the
m*rder, investigators found a

potential clue.

In a small creek just 50 yards
from the turners' home was a

pair of gloves and what looked
to be a mask... cut from a felt

bag.

They've cut two holes in it
for the eyes and then a little

area where they can breathe out
the mouth.

When that evidence was found,
it was thought to be a major...

A major break in the case.

Masks are good objects to
find DNA profiles on, due to the

fact that they're in close
proximity to your skin and also,

in the mouth region, you get
good profile from saliva.

Police were
convinced these items would

identify the k*ller.


Lonnie Turner Jr. and his father

both lived and worked together.

Lonnie sr. Was grooming his son
to take over his funeral

business.

Lonnie Jr. was an only child.

His parents separated when he
was a teenager.

According to friends, Lonnie Jr.
Didn't fit the mold of a funeral

director.

Lonnie Jr... very flashy,
flamboyant.

Junior... he's the type of
guy that he likes nice things.

There were a significant
number of rumors that Lonnie Jr.

Was selling embalming fluid on
the street.

When cigars and
cigarettes laced with marijuana

or pcp are dipped in embalming
fluid, the effects are often

intensified.

The embalming fluid was a
rumor and it remained a rumor.

We were never able to confirm
that that was a... that

that was a fact.

As the beneficiary
of his father's estate,

Lonnie Jr. stood to inherit the
funeral home and all of his

father's assets.

I think junior saw the
business as sort of his cash

cow, and it would be able to
finance his lifestyle.

DNA analyst
Jennifer Watson examined the

mask and gloves found 50 yards
away from Lonnie Turner's home,

near a creek.

Police believed they had been
worn by the k*ller.

She found epithelial cells
around the holes for the eyes

and mouth and was able to
generate a DNA profile, which

she compared to Lonnie Jr.'s

The results surprised everyone.

The result was that
Lonnie Turner Jr. was excluded

as a contributor to that
profile.

The DNA from the
mask was also compared to the

victim's brother, Lawson.

His DNA also did not match.

In looking for other suspects,
police knew one thing... the

k*ller was familiar with the
house and the family.

Lonnie sr. Always left the
back door open.

We figured that somebody knew
about the layout of the house,

knew that the backdoor was
unlocked.

And there was only
one other person who fit that

profile...


Lonnie sr.'S godson, who often

helped out at the funeral home.

He did work around the Turner
funeral home, in the Turner sr.

Home.

It's the chores that the junior
would have to do that he may not

want to do, and then he would
pay my son to do it.

Four months before
the m*rder, James white was

charged with stealing two of
Lonnie sr.'S personal checks.

He made them out to himself for
a total of $8,000 in cash, and

forged Lonnie sr.'S signature.

Senior was mad at him for
doing that and certainly felt

betrayed, but he continued to
embrace white as a godson.

But white
apparently knew Lonnie sr. Kept

cash in a bedroom safe.

He also knew where Lonnie Jr.
Kept his g*ns.

We believe he would have had
knowledge of where it was kept.

Lonnie Jr. loved showing off,
especially that 9-millimeter,

because it was something special
he bought for his 21st birthday.

James white claimed
he spent the entire night of the

m*rder at a party with two
friends, but they didn't

corroborate this story.

We confronted the friend, and
he said, "listen, James white

just called me.

He said, 'hey, lie to the
police.

Tell them that I was with you'."

This friend said he
saw white that night, but not

until 10:30 P.M., which gave
white plenty of time to commit

the m*rder.

The prime suspect
in the m*rder of

Lonnie Turner sr. Was his
godson, James white.

White denied any involvement.

So investigators compared
white's DNA to the DNA found on

the homemade mask found near the
crime scene.

James white's DNA was
definitely on the mask, and with

the amount of DNA that was
present, it's likely that he

wore that mask.

When I was told that, I
almost jumped out of my boots.

Now James white
changed his story.

After several hours had
passed, one of the people doing

the interrogation threw in
Lonnie Turner Jr.'s name, and it

seemed to, like, turn on a
switch in white, and that's when

he started talking about how he
had been set up.

White now said that
Lonnie Jr. hired him to k*ll his

father.

White said he went into
Lonnie sr.'S house and that

Lonnie Jr. was with him, but he
got cold feet and tried to back

out.

But Lonnie Jr. literally held a
g*n to his head and threatened

to sh**t him if he didn't go
through with it.

To sh**t him if he didn't go
through with it.

There was only one problem with
this story... Lonnie Jr. had an

alibi for the entire evening.

He was at a restaurant, at his
girlfriend's house, then at a

car wash.

While driving home, records
indicate Lonnie Jr. was on his

cellphone the entire time.

James white never said
Lonnie Jr. was on his cellphone

while he was literally holding a
g*n to his head.

We couldn't put him at the
residence, you know, committing

that crime.

He was either with someone, was
being seen by someone, or was

talking to someone on the phone.

If things were to have
happened the way he said it,

then junior would have had to
been pointing a g*n at his head

while talking on the cellphone
at the same time.

The polygraph that was given
to him, it came back

inconclusive.

James David white's not the
sharpest crayon in the box, and

I didn't know how much of it was
due to that or to deception.

I just didn't know.

Prosecutors believe
James white needed money and

knew Lonnie Turner sr. Kept cash
inside his home.

He also knew Lonnie Jr. kept
g*ns under his bed.

The evidence suggests white
stole one of the g*ns... the


the m*rder.

Prosecutors believe the motive
was burglary, which is why white

wore a mask, in the event he was
seen.

White unscrewed the light bulb
on the porch, entered the house,

and probably thought no one was
home.

When he opened the bedroom door,
looking for valuables, he found

that wasn't the case.

What's going on?!

One b*llet entered

Lonnie's forearm, and he tried
to cover his face.

The other hit him in the chest,

k*lling him instantly.

Prosecutors believe white
panicked, left the money and

valuables behind, but returned
the g*n to Lonnie Jr.'s

bedroom...

then threw the mask and
gloves in a nearby creek, but

the mask still contained enough
DNA to tie him to the scene.

The other interesting element in
this case was the family

members' movements that night.

Lonnie Jr. came home, found his
father wounded in the bedroom,

grabbed his g*n and cellphone,
called police, then drove to the

police station.

But before police arrived, his
uncle, Lawson, entered the

house, since he planned to spend
the night.

Lonnie?

When he heard no
answer, he assumed his brother

was out on business, and when
police arrived...

He was in the kitchen, making

a sandwich, completely unaware
of the crime.

Sir, step outside.

Tell me what happened.

What is this about, sir?

James white's
father, who is also the victim's

best friend, remains convinced
that Lonnie Jr. was involved.

I think that it's fair for my
son to be in prison for this

m*rder because he say he pulled
the trigger.

But I would like to see
Lonnie Jr. there, also, because

my son didn't have anything to
profit from this... that junior

is the one who profit
everything.

In July of 2005,
James white accepted a plea

bargain, admitted his complicity
in the crime, and was sentenced

to 25 years in prison.

Without the forensic
evidence, I don't think we'd be

here today talking about this
case.

I honestly believe that if it
hadn't been for that DNA profile

on that mask, we wouldn't have
been able to make a case.

Prosecutors admit
Lonnie Jr.'s story about what

happened defies belief, but the
alibi was what saved him.

I think there are a lot of
people today who still believe

that he had something to do with
his dad's death, and it has hurt

his reputation, and it has
certainly hurt the solid

reputation that his father
worked so hard to build for the

family business.

Lonnie Jr. wasn't there that
night when his father was

m*rder*d.

There's no question about that.

The evidence clears that for me.

It stands out because of
twists and turns.

It took us some places that I
think we really didn't

anticipate when we began the
investigation.