May Court Date Set for Suspect in BofA Exec Michelle Avan’s Killing

The hearing scheduled to be held Monday for ex-broker Anthony Duwayne Turner, the former colleague and ex-boyfriend of slain Bank of America executive Michelle Avan, has been postponed until May 18, according to a spokesman for George Gascón, Los Angeles County district attorney.

The May 18 hearing is again designed to set a date for a preliminary hearing in the case and will be held at 8:30 a.m. in Los Angeles Superior Court in Van Nuys, the spokesman told ThinkAdvisor on Tuesday.

Avan was a managing director at Merrill Lynch 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, 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,” police said.

“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, and paramedics pronounced her dead.

Turner allegedly entered Avan’s home on Aug. 3, killed her and left the next day, the district attorney said.

Turner had been a registered broker with Merrill since 2004, and his registration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority shifted to BofA Securities in 2019, where he was still working as a broker when he was arrested, according to his report on FINRA’s BrokerCheck. He is no longer registered as a broker, according 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; Image: Los Angeles Sentinel/File Photo)