Credit: Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Former Bank of America commercial banking executive Anthony Duwayne Turner was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the murder of another BofA executive, his former girlfriend Michelle Avan, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.
Turner was found guilty in August of murder, forcible rape and burglary in Avan's slaying in her home in Reseda, California, on Aug. 3, 2021. The California Superior Court jury in the case also agreed with two “special allegation” charges — murder while committing a rape and murder while committing a burglary — that allowed a sentence of life in prison without parole.
In addition to the life sentence, Turner, 57, received concurrent prison sentences on the other counts. He will serve the sentences in state prison.
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, some two months before she was killed. Earlier, she had been a Merrill Lynch managing director for nearly 23 years, according to her LinkedIn profile.
About a year before the murder, Turner became BofA's global commercial banking market executive for the greater Los Angeles and Inland Empire markets, overseeing a 17-banker team; he joined BofA in 2015 and earlier had been with Wells Fargo and CIT/OneWest Bank, according to the Inland Empire Business Journal.
Prosecutors accused Turner of beating and strangling Avan to death and leaving her home the following day. Her son reportedly found her body two days after the murder.
A message left Wednesday by the Michelle's Legacy page, formerly Justice for Michelle, on Facebook said: "Promise kept Sis. I love you! Your Big Bro
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Someone responded to the message: "The Lord God extended His Arm of Justice, Power and Might for Michelle. She was a beautiful soul. I prayed fervently for your family especially her kids. 
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Photo credit: Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
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