New Court Date Set for Suspect in Merrill Exec’s Murder
The date for a preliminary hearing in Anthony Duwayne Turner's case has yet to be set, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
The hearing scheduled to be held Thursday to set a preliminary hearing date for Anthony Duwayne Turner, the former colleague and ex-boyfriend of slain Bank of America executive Michelle Avan, has been continued to Feb. 17, a spokesperson for Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón told ThinkAdvisor on Friday.
The Feb. 17 preliminary hearing setting will be held at Los Angeles Superior Court in Van Nuys, California. A time was not specified on the court’s website as of Friday afternoon, but the prior hearing settings and Turner’s arraignment on Aug. 9 were all at 8:30 a.m.
Avan was a managing director at Merrill for 22 years before being promoted in June to head of BofA’s global women’s and underrepresented talent strategy, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Turner, 52, of Westchester, California, was arrested Aug. 5 and released Aug. 13 after posting $2 million in bail, the Los Angeles Police Department and a spokesperson for Gascón had told ThinkAdvisor.
Turner was charged with felony murder and first-degree residential burglary in his former girlfriend’s death, according to Gascón’s spokesperson.
The cause of Avan’s death was unknown, but she “appeared to have suffered trauma to her face,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
“Family members became concerned when they could not contact Avan,” police said. Avan’s son discovered her body, and a member of her family contacted police and Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics.
West Valley Patrol officers arrived at Avan’s home and found her unresponsive, police said, adding that paramedics pronounced her dead.
On Aug. 3, Turner allegedly entered Avan’s home, killing her before leaving Aug. 4, the district attorney said.
Turner had been with Merrill since 2004, and his registration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority shifted to BofA Securities in 2019, according to his report on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.
Avan had considered seeking a restraining order against Turner, with whom she had been in a romantic relationship, NBC4′s I-Team reported, citing law enforcement sources.
Avan’s family requested that Gascón file a special circumstances murder charge against Turner in addition to the charges filed by the district attorney.
(Pictured: Anthony Duwayne Turner)