A former Bank of America banker accused of murdering BofA executive Michelle Avan, his former girlfriend, in 2021 now faces additional charges under a recent superseding indictment.
Anthony Duwayne Turner, 56, already faced murder, burglary and forcible rape charges in connection with Avan's slaying on Aug. 3, 2021, and had pleaded not guilty.
The superseding indictment includes two “special allegation” charges — murder while committing a rape and murder while committing a burglary — that could result in the death penalty or life in prison without parole if Turner is convicted, court records indicate.
The updated case also includes a charge related to injuring a girlfriend, stemming from an earlier alleged incident — on June 7, 2021 — and assault with intent to rape while committing a burglary, which prosecutors allege occurred on Dec. 23, 2018, according to court records.
Turner pleaded not guilty to the underlying charges (case #25CJCF00398-01) on Jan. 30, according to the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County website. He has denied any and all allegations, the DA's office said by email Monday.
Over prosecutors’ objections, a judge at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on Friday granted Turner’s request for bail, which was set at $2 million, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office told ThinkAdvisor by email.
The judge imposed house arrest from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and ordered the defendant not to have female guests at his residence and not to leave Los Angeles County, according to the DA’s office. Turner remained in custody Monday, according to the county inmate information website.
Another pretrial conference is set for March 21.
Turner had been released on the same bail amount, with conditions, in the initial case involving Avan’s killing, but was held in custody following the Jan. 23 superseding indictment presented by a grand jury, the court website indicates.
Turner left Avan's residence in Reseda the day after she was killed, authorities allege.
Avan, 48, had been promoted to Bank of America senior vice president, head of global women's and under-represented talent strategy global human resources, about two months before she was slain. She had served nearly 23 years as a Merrill Lynch managing director, her LinkedIn profile indicates.
Turner’s trial was initially scheduled to have started in September last year but was postponed because a key detective in the case was unavailable partly due to pregnancy complications.
That detective is a necessary witness for all DNA evidence, which was paramount to at least one “special circumstance” charge, prosecutors indicated.
In 2020, BofA appointed Turner to be global commercial banking market executive for the Greater Los Angeles and Inland Empire markets, overseeing a 17-banker team.
Turner was registered with Merrill starting in 2004 and later with BofA Securities (2019-2022), according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority BrokerCheck; he worked as a business banker for BofA from 2016 to 2022.
Credit: Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
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