A Killer Defense

Summary

48 Hours – "A Killer Defense"

Date: April 8, 2026
Host: CBS News
Summary of the Episode

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Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, 48 Hours investigates the high-profile case of Dr. Kirk Turner, a prominent North Carolina dentist accused of murdering his wife, Jennifer Turner, with the claim of self-defense. Through emotional interviews, detailed trial coverage, and analyses of forensic evidence, the episode explores the fractured Turner family, motive and allegations, disputed physical evidence, and ultimately, a shocking verdict. The story highlights the tension between justice, perception, and the complexities of intimate partner violence.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background: Jennifer and Kirk Turner’s Marriage

• Family and Friends Remember Jennifer

  • Wendy Turner recalls her mother's love of horses and their close bond, highlighting the deep sense of loss after her death.

    "Every time I'm like on the way to a barn or on my way to see a horse, I want to call my mom." – Wendy Turner [01:19]

  • Friends Ann Gould and Susan Doran describe Jennifer as gentle and loving, unable to envision her as violent.

• Marital Collapse

  • Trouble surfaces after 23 years of marriage: Kirk announces he’s leaving.

    "She was devastated. She was very confused." – Wendy Turner [02:21]

  • Jennifer learns Kirk is having an affair with Tonya Colvin, their personal banker, and hires a private investigator for proof.

    "My mom had video evidence of him cheating on her." – Wendy Turner [07:42]

  • The Turners’ separation leads to a legal and emotional battle over vast assets, including a horse farm and lavish lifestyle.

2. A Family Divided

• Children Take Sides

  • Daughter Wendy sides with Jennifer, cutting Kirk out of her life.

    "I stopped talking to him because he was cheating on my mom." – Wendy Turner [09:49]

  • Kirk retaliates by cutting Wendy off financially.
  • Son Richie moves in with Kirk, maintaining a complicated sense of loyalty to both parents.

• Jennifer’s Fears and Lawsuits

  • Jennifer fears for her safety, arms herself at night, and files an alienation of affection suit against Tonya Colvin.
  • Wendy testifies her mother felt threatened by Kirk’s cryptic remark:

    "She told me that he said there was more than one way to end a marriage." – Wendy Turner [11:53]

3. The Night of the Killing

• September 12, 2007
  • Jennifer agrees to let Kirk help friend Greg Smithson pick up equipment at the ranch.
  • Kirk claims during a private conversation, Jennifer erupts after seeing court documents (including an affidavit from her ex about her devotion to horses and supposed infidelity).
  • Kirk says Jennifer attacked him with a decorative seven-foot spear, stabbing him in the thigh and leg. He claims he stabbed her with a pocket knife in self-defense.

    "She went over into this corner and got the spear… She launched a vicious and potentially deadly attack on him." – Defense Attorney Brad Bannon [02:41]

  • Smithson finds Kirk wounded and Jennifer dying, calls 911, and performs CPR.

4. Conflicting Narratives: Self-Defense or Murder?

• Defense's Story

  • Kirk and attorneys Brad Bannon and Joe Cheshire maintain it was classic self-defense; Kirk had no murderous intent and acted only to save his own life.

    "If Kirk Turner had not had his pocket knife with him, Kirk Turner would be dead." – Brad Bannon [03:36]

  • Forensic scientist Marilyn Miller testifies about blood evidence in Kirk’s pocket supporting his timeline.

• Prosecution’s Argument

  • Prosecutor Greg Brown calls it premeditated murder, citing motive stemming from divorce proceedings, financial strain, and the damaging lawsuit against Kirk’s lover.

    "The physical evidence will speak loud and clear that the defendant is guilty of first degree murder." – Prosecutor Greg Brown [04:35]

  • No fingerprints from Jennifer found on the spear; physical and blood evidence appears inconsistent with Kirk’s version.

    "All the physical evidence at the scene did not show an attack by Jennifer Turner on her husband or that she even touched that spear." – Prosecutor Rob Taylor [26:00]

• Scene Analysis

  • Blood spatter and drying patterns suggest Jennifer may have been killed while down, not in an upright struggle, contradicting Kirk’s claim.

    "The blood spatter was found on the scene side of the work table, just inches above the floor. Police say that proves Jennifer was not standing when her throat was cut." – Narrator/Host [28:30]

5. Eyewitness Testimonies and Timeline Disputes

• Greg Smithson: The Unlikely Key Witness
  • Defense paints Smithson as honest and straightforward; prosecution casts doubt on his accounting of the timeline—leaving 90 minutes unaccounted for between the encounter and 911 call.

    "If Greg Smithson is telling the truth, Kirk Turner’s not guilty of homicide." – Brad Bannon [32:19]

  • Prosecutors suggest Smithson helped create a cover story; Smithson steadfastly denies it.

    "I think they were out on a witch hunt." – Greg Smithson [29:59]

6. Family Testimony and Divisions

• Wendy remains certain of her father’s guilt, unable to call him “Dad."

  "He took my mom from me. I can't call him dad when he did that." – Wendy Turner [37:01]

• Richie is open to the idea his mother might have attacked in anger, citing a past incident with a horsewhip.

  "She’s come at me with a horsewhip before... She wasn’t swinging it as hard as she could, but yeah, she was." – Richie Turner [37:18]

7. Trial and Verdict

• Verdict and Reactions

  • After a month-long trial and six hours of deliberation, the jury finds Kirk Turner not guilty by reason of self-defense.

    "You have returned a verdict of not guilty by reason of self defense. Not guilty. The verdict sends shockwaves through the courtroom." – Narrator/Host [38:39]

  • Community, friends, and media express outrage; some compare the trial to the O.J. Simpson case.

    "It's okay to kill your wife. That's the message that was sent." – Susan Doran [39:27]

• Jury Reflections

  • Jury points to the blood evidence in Kirk’s pocket—only his DNA—as pivotal to their decision.

    "The only blood in the socket was his blood... That convinced me as who was stabbed or cut first." – Juror [40:18]

  • Jurors vouch for Smithson's credibility and downplay the prosecution's theory of conspiracy and timeline manipulation.

• Aftermath

  • Nicole is devastated, while Richie maintains his father’s innocence and wishes for reconciliation.

    "Was it worth it?" – Wendy Turner [42:31]

  • In 2018, Kirk Turner settles a lawsuit against the NC State Bureau of Investigation for $200,000.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Wendy Turner’s Grief:

  "It's really nice to be able to be around horses that she really loved. I don't get to share that with her anymore. It's torture." – [01:19]

• Kirk Turner on Why He Stayed in a Loveless Marriage:

  "I was working, and then when I came home, I had to work, work on the barn. It was pretty consuming. We spent no time at all together." – [14:48]

• Jennifer’s Fear for Her Life:

  "She told me that he said there was more than one way to end a marriage. She thought that he was going to try and kill." – Wendy Turner [11:53]

• Forensic Battleground:

  "The only blood in the socket was his blood. He had already been cut when he went in there to grab the knife. That convinced me as who was stabbed or cut first." – Juror [40:18]

• Prosecution’s Outrage:

  "It's okay to kill your wife. That's the message that was sent." – Susan Doran [39:27]

• Wendy’s Unresolved Pain:

  "Was it worth it?" – Wendy Turner [42:31]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [01:19] – Wendy Turner remembers her mother
• [02:41] – Defense attorney describes the alleged attack
• [07:42] – Wendy reveals video evidence of Kirk’s affair
• [11:53] – Wendy testifies about her mother’s fear
• [14:17] – Kirk Turner testifies about events leading to separation
• [19:27] – Kirk describes being attacked by Jennifer, claims self-defense
• [26:00] – Prosecutors dispute the self-defense claim, question blood evidence
• [32:19] – Smithson’s testimony and timeline issues
• [38:39] – Verdict: not guilty by reason of self-defense
• [40:18] – Jury explains their decision
• [42:31] – Wendy Turner’s final words: "Was it worth it?"

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Conclusion

"A Killer Defense" immerses listeners in a tragic saga of a splintered family, a suspicious death, and competing narratives of victimhood. The episode presents all sides through evocative interviews, courtroom drama, scientific forensics, and personal anguish, leaving listeners to grapple with the elusiveness of truth and the limits of the justice system. The not guilty verdict only deepens the rift among those closest to Jennifer and Kirk Turner—and in the community at large.

Transcript

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[Wendy Turner]

Every time I'm like on the way to a barn or on my way to see a horse, I want to call my mom. It's really nice to be able to be around horses that she really loved. I don't get to share that with her anymore. It's torture.

[Ann Gould]

Jennifer was the best friend that anybody could ever have had. Yeah, she was my best friend. I didn't realize that there was trouble in the marriage. I saw a woman who dearly loved her husband. She trusted Kirk. It takes two to keep a marriage, and he was not willing. He announced that he was leaving.

[Wendy Turner]

My mother even went so far as to tell me that he didn't love her anymore. She was devastated. She was very confused.

[Ann Gould]

She didn't know whether to be sad, angry. She loved him. Until that night.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

We could spend all kinds of time speculating about why Jennifer did what she did, what set her off. There's a reason it's called a snap. She went over into this corner and got the spear, which was over here. She thrust the spear at him, going all the way through. Then she pulled the spear out and plunged it in again. She launched a vicious and potentially deadly attack on him. He finally went inside his pocket to get his knife to defend himself.

[Wendy Turner]

It's a complete fairytale. I think he cornered her and he slit her throat.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

You don't deny that you killed Jennifer, do you?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I don't deny it.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

If Kirk Turner had not had his pocket knife with him, Kurt Turner would be dead.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Did you cause your wife's death to protect your own life.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

Yes, that is textbook self defense.

[Wendy Turner]

It was just one big lie.

[Narrator/Host]

All right.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

September 12, 2007 was reckoning day for the defendant. A pending divorce, unresolved property settlement, huge support payments was on his mind.

[Narrator/Host]

Nearly two years after Jennifer Turner was killed, Greg Brown, a North Carolina prosecutor, lays out the case against her husband, Dr. Kirk Turner.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

The physical evidence will speak loud and clear that the defendant is guilty of first degree murder.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

She stabbed me with a spear. She just kept stabbing me.

[Narrator/Host]

But defense attorney Brad Bannon says the last thing on Dr. Turner's mind that night was murdered.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

The most primal human impulse that we have is that of self preservation. And that is what this case is about.

[Narrator/Host]

Bannon says Kirk Turner stabbed his wife with a knife only after she attacked him with a seven foot spear.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

This is where she stabbed Kirk in the arm. This is where she stabbed him twice in his leg.

[Wendy Turner]

There's no way that could have been my mother. I can't imagine her with a spear in her hands.

[Narrator/Host]

Wendy Turner is Kirk and Jennifer's daughter.

[Wendy Turner]

My mother was to me, just the epitome of a gentle soul.

[Susan Doran]

There was no way that Jennifer would attack Kirk.

[Tonya Colvin]

She never would have done that.

[Narrator/Host]

Friends Linda Ernst and Susan Doran believe they knew the real Jennifer Turner.

[Linda Ernst]

Could Jennifer be a violent person? Could there have been a part of her that you didn't know?

[Susan Doran]

I never saw that side. I can't believe that it ever existed

[Wendy Turner]

or ever would have.

[Ann Gould]

This is one of Jennifer's horses. She handled her horses very well. She took care of them incredibly well. She absolutely adored them.

[Narrator/Host]

Ann Gould rode with Jennifer nearly every day.

[Linda Ernst]

How many horses did Jennifer own?

[Ann Gould]

At the time of her death, she owned nine horses. It was her dream to start a breeding farm. But it was her husband who put that dream into reality and encouraged her to make this a business. A money making business.

[Narrator/Host]

That would be another money making business since Kirk was already a very successful dentist with an annual salary of $650,000.

[Tara Whitaker]

Anytime you asked a patient what they thought of Kirk Turner as a dentist, they all thought he was a great man.

[Narrator/Host]

Jennifer's friend, Tara Whitaker, worked at Kirk's dental practice.

[Tara Whitaker]

Always treat us very well. Always took us out to lunches. He was very generous man towards all of us. And he talked about his wife, how much he loved her and about the children, about vacations they would all be taking together.

[Narrator/Host]

Kirk and Jennifer seemed like a terrific match.

[Wendy Turner]

She loved, yes, absolutely.

[Narrator/Host]

And that's why everyone, especially Jennifer, was shocked when Kirk announced he was leaving her after 23 years of marriage.

[Linda Ernst]

Did you talk to your father when you learned they were having marital problems?

[Wendy Turner]

He insisted on coming to my school and telling me to my face that they were going to be separated. And I asked him that night if he was cheating on my mother and he said he was not.

[Narrator/Host]

But that was a bald faced lie.

[Wendy Turner]

My mom had video evidence of him cheating on her.

[Linda Ernst]

Where'd she get that?

[Wendy Turner]

Private investigator.

[Linda Ernst]

She'd hired someone she had.

[Narrator/Host]

Jennifer was shocked to see that Kirk was frequently at the home of another woman. A woman who once was the family's personal banker, Tonya Colvin.

[Tonya Colvin]

I would have been so. I mean, I think most women would be angry to find out that your husband is seeing your personal banker. Yeah, I think I would have been very angry. And she was just hurt over it.

[Linda Ernst]

Did she ever say anything to you? I'm going to get that sob.

[Tonya Colvin]

No, no. I think she's just trying to figure out how to survive and where to go next.

[Narrator/Host]

A lot of money was on the line. A 10,000 square foot house, a 35 acre horse farm and Kirk's collection of vintage Corvettes. Jennifer stayed in the house after Kirk moved out and a court ordered him to pay her more than $30,000 a month.

[Linda Ernst]

That's a lot of money.

[Ann Gould]

It's a lot of money. I'd like to get that a month.

[Narrator/Host]

It was a lot of money. But Ann says Jennifer needed it to operate the horse breeding business that she and Kirk.

[Ann Gould]

She was clearing pastures on her own. She was putting in fences. It was a 12 hour a day job. She was running a business.

[Narrator/Host]

And then there was the human cost. Kirk's actions splintered the family. Their son Richie left his mother's home and he and Kirk eventually moved in together.

[Linda Ernst]

People wonder how could you support your dad when there was another woman in his life. He had so hurt your mother emotionally.

[Richie Turner]

He was still my dad. My mom was still my mom. It was still family to me.

[Narrator/Host]

Wendy, away at college, sided with her mother and cut Kirk out of her life.

[Wendy Turner]

I stopped talking to him because he was cheating on my mom.

[Narrator/Host]

Kirk retaliated.

[Wendy Turner]

He cancelled all of my credit cards and stopped paying my tuition. I think he thought that I would talk to him if he would give me money. But I was doing what I thought was right, which was standing up for my mother. And no amount of money would have changed to that.

[Narrator/Host]

Jennifer filed for divorce, but was also determined to go after court. Kirk's lover slapping her with an unusual alienation of affection lawsuit.

[Ann Gould]

It was a suit against the other woman.

[Narrator/Host]

Jennifer was suing Tonya Colvin for stealing her man.

[Ann Gould]

She felt like this woman had come in and not only ruined Jennifer's life, but was going to ruin her children's lives too.

[Narrator/Host]

If Jennifer wanted to get under Kirk's skin by finding filing that lawsuit, it worked.

[Wendy Turner]

I know that he really wanted the Alienation of affection suit to disappear.

[Narrator/Host]

Wendy says that Kirk kept pressuring her mother to drop the suit.

[Linda Ernst]

When your father is upset, is he a menacing man?

[Wendy Turner]

Very scary. Very scary.

[Narrator/Host]

Jennifer began to take precautions. Alone in her big house, she fought Mace and at night sealed herself off in her bedroom with a baseball bat, an extra cell phone, and a lock on the bedroom door.

[Linda Ernst]

What was Jennifer afraid of?

[Ann Gould]

Jennifer was afraid that he was going to hurt her or kill her.

[Linda Ernst]

Why did she think that?

[Ann Gould]

She was afraid of him blowing up and losing control.

[Narrator/Host]

All rise. Two years later, they would call Wendy Turner. Wendy Turner tells a spellbound courtroom the exact words spoken by Kirk that made Jennifer cringe with fear.

[Wendy Turner]

She told me that he said there was more than one way to end a marriage. She thought that he was going to try and kill.

[Greg Smithson]

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[Wendy Turner]

My mother really loved horses. She spent a lot of time with them and she felt really lucky that she was able to do that.

[Linda Ernst]

This is Jennifer Turner.

[Narrator/Host]

But Jennifer's passion for horses turned into an obsession, says her son Richie.

[Richie Turner]

Once we moved out to the farm, horses really took over her life. She was out working with the horses all day, feeding, mucking stalls.

[Linda Ernst]

What was happening to the love and the relationship in your opinion?

[Richie Turner]

Well, I think the love was still there, but they just there Was no time spent with each other.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Your honor, we would call Kirk Turner.

[Narrator/Host]

Facing life in prison if he's convicted of murdering his wife, Dr. Kirk Turner makes the bold and risky decision to take the stand to explain the events that led up to that fateful night.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

Jennifer really wanted to raise horses.

[Narrator/Host]

Kirk is questioned by his own high priced attorney, Joe Cheshire, who earned national attention in 2006 when he defended the wrongfully accused players in the Duke lacrosse rape case.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Why did you agree to purchase the Jack boo property and move, make her happy? Was that important to you?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

But Kirk says his desire to make Jennifer happy proved to be the undoing of their marriage.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I was working, and then when I came home, I had to work, work on the barn. It was pretty consuming. We spent no time at all together.

[Narrator/Host]

Two years after buying the horse farm, Kirk was lonely. That's when he began spending time with the other woman, the family's former personal banker, Tanya Colvin.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

We were friends and started talking more about our marriages and kind of commiserated about how bad our marriages were becoming.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

And that relationship became an adulterous relationship at some point.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

It did, yes. I'm ashamed to say it did.

[Narrator/Host]

Just two weeks after he first slept with Tonya, Kirk told Jennifer he was leaving.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I knew my marriage had been over a long time. I thought it best just to ask for a separation and move out of the house.

[Narrator/Host]

Even though it was Jennifer who filed for divorce, Kirk says she offered to drop the whole matter if he agreed to stay married on some pretty easy terms.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

She'd offered that I could, if I moved back home, that I could keep Tanya as a girlfriend and see her and even vacation with her.

[Narrator/Host]

Kirk turned down Jennifer's unusual offer, but something he said to her would end up becoming a focal point of this case.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Kirk, have you ever said to your wife there's more than one way to end a marriage?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I have. She'd asked me if I wanted a divorce. I said no. There was more than one way to end a marriage.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

And what were you referring to?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

Separation. As my parents have done.

[Narrator/Host]

But Wendy testified her mother took Kirk's statement as a threat on her life.

[Wendy Turner]

She knew he carried a knife and a little gun.

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

And did she indicate to you what type of fear that caused in her?

[Wendy Turner]

Oh, terrible fear. She'd be very shaky and scared, and her eyes would have tears in them.

[Narrator/Host]

Then came September 12, 2007, the last day of Jennifer's life. Family friend Greg Smithson called, telling Jennifer he needed to pick up some equipment at the ranch.

[Greg Smithson]

Jennifer, to me was a wonderful person. She always treated me real good. Never had any problems with her.

[Linda Ernst]

You were so close to the two children. What did they call you?

[Greg Smithson]

Uncle Greg.

[Narrator/Host]

Greg asked Jennifer if he could bring Kirk along to help him load up his equipment. Surprisingly, Jennifer put her fears aside and said yes.

[Greg Smithson]

I walked up to the house to get Jennifer and inform her that we were there.

[Linda Ernst]

When you told her that, what was her reaction that Kirk was there on the property?

[Greg Smithson]

She told me. She said it was fine.

[Narrator/Host]

Jennifer actually helped Greg and Kirk move some furniture. Then they went to a shed on the property to pick up a welder. Greg says Jennifer welder wasn't fearful, but the conversation got personal and Greg felt uncomfortable.

[Greg Smithson]

I heard the word sex, and then I'm like, okay, these are things that I just don't want to hear.

[Linda Ernst]

But you heard the word.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Yeah.

[Greg Smithson]

Sex and reconciliation.

[Narrator/Host]

Greg headed out to his truck with the welder, leaving Kirk and Jennifer alone. Kirk says he used the private moment to change the subject to to some papers he'd brought with him.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I took two documents with me.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

What documents did you take?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I took an order that we were going to file with the court to force the sale of the farm, and I took an affidavit from her first husband that spoke of their marriage.

[Narrator/Host]

That affidavit claimed that Jennifer's first marriage, nearly 25 years earlier, had failed because of her obsessive love of horses. Jennifer's ex also alleged that she had been unfaithful.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I just wanted to show Jennifer that I didn't want this to get ugly and if we had to proceed in court, that it wasn't going to be nice for either one of us.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

I don't think that he thought that these papers would inflame Jennifer. They did inflame.

[Narrator/Host]

Kirk says an enraged Jennifer grabbed a seven foot long decorative spear and that was leaning against a wall and took him by surprise.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

Well, I remember turning around and seeing a symmetrical silver thing in my leg.

[Narrator/Host]

Kirk says that silver thing was the tip of the spear. Defense attorney Brad Bannon.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

She thrust the spear at him right

[Linda Ernst]

here, right in the meat of the

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

thigh, right there, going all the way through. Then she pulled the spear out and plunged it in again, this time much closer to his groin. And it went all the way through.

[Narrator/Host]

At five'11,187 pounds, Jennifer was a strong, athletic woman. Kirk says he defended himself.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

We know he had his Kershaw pocket knife in his front right pocket to defend himself against the attack.

[Narrator/Host]

The knife was just four inches long, but razor sharp.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Do you Remember going into your pocket and getting your knife?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

No. I remember. Going like this.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Do you remember Jennifer falling?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

No.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Do you remember standing over her?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I remember looking down, seeing her eyes.

[Narrator/Host]

Greg Smithson says about two or three minutes had passed since he'd last seen Kirk and Jennifer together. Then he heard a noise.

[Greg Smithson]

I heard Kirk holler. I was screaming. At several points in time, I heard him say that she had. That she had attacked. When I'd seen he was bleeding, Greg

[Narrator/Host]

ran into the shed to call 91 1. That's when he made a gruesome discovery.

[Greg Smithson]

I saw Jennifer laying there. I'm so shook up, I couldn't tell if she was alive or not.

[Narrator/Host]

The 911 operator instructed Greg to give Jennifer CPR.

[Greg Smithson]

I went back and forth between the telephone and Jennifer multiple times, multiple, multiple times. I grabbed her nose. I put my hand under her neck and started blowing.

[Narrator/Host]

But there was no saving Jennifer. Kirk had severed one of her main arteries and she bled out. Kirk was hospitalized, going into shock from blood loss and requiring a transfusion. Through it all, Kirk. Kirk told anyone who would listen that Jennifer attacked him first.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I would never have killed my wife unless I thought I was going to die.

[Linda Ernst]

Was this a case of self defense?

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

It was not.

[Linda Ernst]

What was it in your mind?

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

It was a cold blooded murder.

[Richie Turner]

It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life.

[Wendy Turner]

He asked if I was sitting down.

[Richie Turner]

I couldn't tell her. You know, I sat there and I cried.

[Narrator/Host]

Richie Turner could barely find the words to tell his sister Wendy the unimaginable news.

[Wendy Turner]

He said that my mom had died. And I was frantic.

[Richie Turner]

She said, I have to go. I have to go. That was very hard to do.

[Narrator/Host]

Their mother was dead and their father lay in a hospital bed in serious condition.

[Linda Ernst]

Did you want to rush to your father's side?

[Wendy Turner]

No, no, absolutely not. I knew that when they said that my mom had been killed that it was him. Nobody had to tell me that. I knew that.

[Susan Doran]

I saw it on the news and my first reaction was, Kirk did this.

[Narrator/Host]

Jennifer's friend, Susan Doran.

[Susan Doran]

Nobody else would ever try to harm Jennifer. Nobody. So I knew immediately it was him.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

The long drawn out divorce, the fact that he had a girlfriend, the fact that he was a millionaire, the fact that this was an embarrassment to his practice. All these things are called motive. Dr. Turner, I have a number of questions that I wish to ask you.

[Narrator/Host]

Prosecutor Greg Brown could not wait to challenge Kirk when he took the stand.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Can you tell this jury at what point did you decide the case I

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

could not tell you that.

[Narrator/Host]

But Brown is convinced Dr. Turner is lying. He believes Kirk made a conscious choice to kill Jennifer just moments before their fatal encounter.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

She had no idea what was coming.

[Narrator/Host]

By Brown's reckoning, Dr. Turner was itching for a fight. That September night when he arrived at

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

the farm, the defendant came with a purpose to confront her.

[Narrator/Host]

Kirk's aim was to get Jennifer to drop her embarrassing lawsuit against his girlfriend Tanya Colvin.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

He was devastated because of the alienation of affection lawsuit.

[Narrator/Host]

So Kirk sprung a surprise on Jennifer that damaging affidavit from her ex husband to show that Kirk too could play dirty.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I'd never thought of it as a threat.

[Narrator/Host]

Alone in the shed that night, tempers flared. Especially Brown says after Jennifer read over those documents, she crumpled them up.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

She may have said something offensive to him. She may have scratched his face. And at that point in time, he made a decision that he was going to kill his wife. The defendant took out his knife.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I always have a pocket knife on my person.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Stabbed his wife.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I just remember my hand going out and murdered her.

[Linda Ernst]

This was not self defense.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

That's correct. You do remember your wife's eyes being open when you killed her?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I remember her laying on the floor and seeing her eyes and they were open.

[Narrator/Host]

Kirk insists he had no choice but to protect himself once Jennifer began stabbing him with that seven foot spear.

[Linda Ernst]

Are you buying it?

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

No, absolutely not.

[Narrator/Host]

Prosecutor Rob Taylor.

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

All the physical evidence at the scene did not show an attack by Jennifer

[Narrator/Host]

Turner on her husband or that she even touched that spear.

[Linda Ernst]

Were any of Jennifer's fingerprints on the spear?

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

No fingerprint that we can say was lifted. That absolutely puts that spear in her hands.

[Narrator/Host]

With Jennifer dead at his feet. Prosecutors believe Kirk needed a way out. The they say he staged the scene to make it look like self defense. Then he did the unthinkable.

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

He grabs the spear, sits down in a chair or some location and puts those wounds into his leg.

[Narrator/Host]

Kirk's attorney Joe Cheshire says that's ludicrous.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

I've had doctors say to me if you were wild and crazed on pcp, maybe you could do it once, but you could never do it twice.

[Narrator/Host]

It does sound unbelievable. But Taylor says take a close look at those injuries to Kirk's thigh.

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

Two wounds going through and through the leg with no twisting of the blade. It appeared no ripping of the skin. They appear to be pretty clean wounds through and through. That's not consistent with someone in a spear battle trying to dodge maneuver, trying to avoid the or trying to get away.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Mr. Turner Isn't it a fact that you inflicted those two wounds to the fat part of your leg so you could give a convincing reason why you butchered your wife so you could claim self defense? Isn't that correct?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

That is not correct.

[Linda Ernst]

The mystery of what happened to Jennifer Turner can actually be found right in this area.

[Narrator/Host]

This is going to be the heart of the case. The blood. This is her blood. Some of Kirk's is here as well. Got shot up on the side of this wood.

[Linda Ernst]

Why it happened, how it happened, that's

[Narrator/Host]

at the heart of this case. This is Kirk's bloody footprint here. Johnny Marks, the prosecution team's lead investigator, shows us why he thinks the blood evidence contradicts Kirk's story. Now for you believe Kurt's story, that he was facing her.

[Linda Ernst]

The knife goes in, he rips across the second.

[Narrator/Host]

There's a second wound across there. Now, we all know that when the carotid artery is cut, each beat of the heart, blood shoots out of the body.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

That's correct.

[Narrator/Host]

So there should be blood.

[Linda Ernst]

Your investigation claims there should be blood

[Narrator/Host]

right up here, right?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

That's correct.

[Linda Ernst]

And there isn't any.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

Right.

[Narrator/Host]

The blood spatter was found on the scene side of the work table, just inches above the floor. Police say that proves Jennifer was not standing when her throat was cut.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

He knocked her backwards. He went down on top of her. She was defenseless. She did not have the spear.

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

He had to bury that knife in her neck and rip it across over to her breast area. That's not a defensive thing to do. That's an attacking, murderous event to do.

[Narrator/Host]

And it wasn't only the blood spray that led them to that conclusion.

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

One of the most important things that we looked at when we looked at any of the evidence was these bloody footprints.

[Narrator/Host]

According to Kirk, he was stabbed first. But investigators determined that some of Jennifer's blood was dried or drying before Kirk's first fresh blood began falling on top of it.

[Linda Ernst]

Her blood should be on top of

[Narrator/Host]

his because he claims he was attacked first.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

That's correct.

[Narrator/Host]

But it's just the opposite. It's just the opposite.

[Linda Ernst]

And that makes you suspicious?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

That's correct.

[Narrator/Host]

The drying blood is evidence, prosecutors say, of Kirk's elaborate cover up. And they allege that he had some help from his good friend, Greg Smithson.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Did you rearrange any of the furniture? Did you ever turn, touch a small pocket knife? Didn't pick up a spear? Didn't pick up a chair? We really had to show that Mr. Smithson was not telling the truth.

[Greg Smithson]

I think they were out on a witch hunt.

[Anna Garcia]

I'm Anna Garcia, host of True Crime News, the podcast. Every week we bring you in depth coverage on cases making headlines as well as those that go under the radar. Tune in for murders that defy explanation, mystery seeking exploration, and shocking secrets that will leave you breathless. Each week, we honor the victims by going beyond the salacious in our search for justice. Crime never stops. And neither do we. Listen to True Crime News, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

Greg Smithson is a salt of the earth human being.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

What we would call down here in the south, just a good old beer drinking boy.

[Narrator/Host]

Defense attorneys Joe Cheshire and Brad Bannon say Greg Smithson is as genuine a guy as you can find.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

He is not terribly educated, but he's very, very wise from experiences that he's had in his life.

[Greg Smithson]

There's another spot there, but it's not as bad.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

He became Kirk Turner's best friend, which says a lot about Kirk, too, because he comes from this educated background, making lots of money.

[Linda Ernst]

Kirk Turner is a dentist.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

You're a body shop guy.

[Linda Ernst]

To some people. They would think that's kind of an odd couple, but it's really worked for you guys.

[Greg Smithson]

Kirk is a down to earth kind of guy. He's just a super nice guy.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Stan, have you sworn, please.

[Narrator/Host]

In fact, Smithson tells jurors that he was a friend to all the Turners.

[Greg Smithson]

The one thing I think I really enjoyed about the whole family was I'm just a working class stiff. Of course they had money, but they never acted like they were better than anybody else. Jennifer was one of those that, you know, she was a kind person. I really love Jennifer.

[Narrator/Host]

Smithson is a key figure in this first degree murder trial because he's the closest thing either side has to an eyewitness.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

It's really, really simple. If Greg Smithson is telling the truth, Kirk Turner's not guilty of homicide.

[Narrator/Host]

That's because Smithson swears the fatal encounter between Kirk and Jennifer happened in a flash in the two or three minutes after Smithson left the shed. And he insists there was no cover up, no time for Kirk to stab himself, as prosecutors allege.

[Greg Smithson]

My only concern at that point in time was talking to the people on the phone and trying to help Jennifer.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

We absolutely do not buy Mr. Smithson.

[Linda Ernst]

You think he's lying?

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

We think that he told an untruth.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

Why?

[Narrator/Host]

Prosecutor Greg Brown says there's a problem with Smithson's story.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

He participated in developing a timeline that didn't fit the evidence.

[Narrator/Host]

Smithson figures it was around 8pm When a wounded Kirk came stumbling toward him from the shed. But he didn't call 911 until 9:35pm. Leaving 90 minutes unaccounted for.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

And we believe that during that time period, a plan was developed to cover up this brutal murder.

[Linda Ernst]

Oh, damn.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Take your time.

[Richie Turner]

Your lens.

[Greg Smithson]

I just broke my glass.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

All right, I. Take your time.

[Narrator/Host]

Smithson says he falls apart.

[Greg Smithson]

Somebody in here less nervous than I can snap or less upset. Snap this back in for me.

[Narrator/Host]

Anytime he thinks about that night and says he was simply confused about the time.

[Greg Smithson]

I didn't take a stopwatch. I don't know how long we were there.

[Narrator/Host]

But if there's one thing Smithson is sure of about that night, it's that he gave Jennifer cpr.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Did you hear any sounds from Jennifer?

[Greg Smithson]

I heard some noise. I thought maybe she was breathing. I don't know. The only thing I remember is her eyes.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

He indicated that he gave chest compressions. There are no impressions consistent with someone giving chest compressions.

[Linda Ernst]

You don't believe that Mr. Smithson gave her CPR?

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

I do not. He would have had blood all over him, and there would have been bloody handprints on Jennifer's open chest.

[Linda Ernst]

Greg, it's been alleged by the prosecutors in this case that you didn't really do that CPR because there wasn't enough blood on you. What do you say to that?

[Greg Smithson]

I don't care too much for the prosecution in this case. I know what I tried to do.

[Narrator/Host]

Despite branding Smithson a liar, prosecutor Rob Taylor admits there is not enough evidence to charge him with a crime.

[Linda Ernst]

Did police ever name Greg Smithson as a suspect? No, they did not. If the lead investigators don't think he was involved, why should you?

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

We continually found places in the physical evidence that just didn't match what his statements were.

[Linda Ernst]

Did you lie to police officers about what really happened in that building?

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

No.

[Greg Smithson]

I cooperated with everybody.

[Narrator/Host]

When it's the defense's turn, forensic scientist Marilyn Miller describes what she found inside Kirk's front jeans pocket. The pocket where he kept his knife. That is Dr. Turner's DNA and only Dr. Turner's DNA.

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

The fact that there was only his blood on that pocket definitively shows that he had suffered all of his wounds before he ever went to defend himself.

[Linda Ernst]

If he had killed Jennifer first and

[Narrator/Host]

then tried to cook up a tail

[Linda Ernst]

wound himself for a cover story, what

[Narrator/Host]

you're telling me when he put his

[Linda Ernst]

hand in his pocket, Jennifer's blood would

[Narrator/Host]

have been in there as well?

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

Absolutely.

[Linda Ernst]

In terms of important evidence that's in this room. How important is that blood in the pocket?

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

Critical. It's probably the key fact in the case.

[Narrator/Host]

Watching this all play out are the Turner children. Wendy, who thinks her father is guilty, and Richie, who believes in his innocence.

[Wendy Turner]

I'm really sad for him. I feel like he's stuck in a position that he can't get out of. My mother was the one that really stood up for Richie. And Kirk was really hard on Richie. Really hard.

[Linda Ernst]

You never call your dad dad. You always call him Kirk. Why is that?

[Wendy Turner]

He took my mom from me. I can't call him dad when he did that. He doesn't deserve to be called that anymore.

[Linda Ernst]

Can you see your mother going after your dad with a spear?

[Richie Turner]

She's come at me with a horsewhip before.

[Linda Ernst]

A horsewhip?

[Richie Turner]

Yes. She wasn't swinging it as hard as she could, but yeah, she was.

[Linda Ernst]

Does that make you wonder today that maybe she was capable of picking up that spear in a moment of rage and attacking your dad?

[Richie Turner]

It does.

[Narrator/Host]

While the children remain divided, the jury unites, delivering a verdict that stuns the state of North Carolina.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Jennifer Turner was found to be lifeless

[Defense Attorney Brad Bannon]

and she thrust this spear at him.

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Kirk Turner has told you the truth.

[Narrator/Host]

Kirk Turner's month long murder trial has been a gut wrenching experience for all those who cared about Jennifer.

[Wendy Turner]

She thought that he was going to try and kill her.

[Narrator/Host]

Now, after just six hours of deliberation, the jury has decided whether or not Kirk Turner is guilty.

[Greg Smithson]

Bailiff informs me that the jury has reached a verdict.

[Narrator/Host]

Thank you, sir.

[Tonya Colvin]

Members of the jury, you have returned

[Narrator/Host]

a verdict of not guilty by reason of self defense. Not guilty. The verdict sends shockwaves through the courtroom. Kirk Turner is vindicated.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I want to first thank God for all that he's done for me. I want to thank the jurors. Dr. Turner, can you say anything about Wendy right now? She's a great girl.

[Wendy Turner]

I am crushed. I really thought he'd be guilty of something.

[Tonya Colvin]

We were very, very shocked.

[Susan Doran]

It's okay to kill your wife. That's the message that was sent.

[Narrator/Host]

Jennifer's friends, the community, and even the local newspaper all expressed outrage at the jury's decision. 48 Hours brought six of the jurors together to discuss their controversial verdict.

[Linda Ernst]

One guy wrote that It's North Carolina's O.J. simpson case. Would you like to respond to that?

[Juror]

Absolutely. I was just stunned that they would say things like that to sell papers that we were a bunch of dumb country bumpkins that were fooled by the Big flashy lawyers from out of town. That was not the case at all. I heard the evidence in the courtroom and went with what we were shown.

[Narrator/Host]

Both sides offered reasonable interpretations of blood spatter. But the jury focused on the blood inside Kirk's jeans.

[Juror]

The only blood in the socket was his blood. He had already been cut when he went in there to grab the knife. That convinced me as who was stabbed or cut first.

[Narrator/Host]

And the jurors also came to the conclusion that Greg Smithson, who was with Kirk that night, was a stand up guy.

[Linda Ernst]

Do you believe Greg Smithson?

[Narrator/Host]

Absolutely.

[Linda Ernst]

And what do you think of the prosecution's attempt to cast aspersions on him, to suggest he may have been part of a conspiracy?

[Narrator/Host]

They were grasping at straws. But there was one person who really rubbed these jurors the wrong way. Prosecutor Rob Taylor.

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

I don't remember planting a knife into the chest of a living, breathing person.

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

I mean, he was making his point on top of us.

[Prosecutor Rob Taylor]

She is not. She ra Mighty spear woman.

[Linda Ernst]

And your reaction to that was borderline anger.

[Narrator/Host]

And as for Kirk Turner, these jurors saw nothing wrong with him carrying a knife that night.

[Linda Ernst]

How many of you carry a pocket knife?

[Prosecutor Greg Brown]

Two of you?

[Narrator/Host]

As a matter of fact. I had the same knife he killed her with.

[Juror]

Mine's bigger than the one he had.

[Narrator/Host]

The not guilty verdict has only widened the gap between Wendy and Richie.

[Linda Ernst]

Do you talk today?

[Greg Smithson]

No.

[Linda Ernst]

You're completely estranged?

[Wendy Turner]

I am nervous that if I talk to him, that he will tell Kirk about me and to me. I can't risk that.

[Linda Ernst]

What do you want people watching this to know today about your father?

[Richie Turner]

He's a good man. He loves me. He loves my sister. And if Wendy came back right now, he'd let her in with open arms.

[Narrator/Host]

But Wendy won't be coming back anytime soon.

[Linda Ernst]

If you had an opportunity to speak with your father, say, have one last conversation with him, what would you want to say to him?

[Wendy Turner]

Was it worth it?

[Dr. Kirk Turner]

In 2018, Kirk Turner reached a $200,000 settlement in a lawsuit against the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

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[Narrator/Host]

win it is my great honor to

[Tonya Colvin]

welcome you all to Starfleet Academy.

[Greg Smithson]

There's no never been a better time to enroll in Star Trek.

[Tonya Colvin]

It's our job to prepare you for the unimaginable.

[Narrator/Host]

To the night Cadet. In high pressure situations, positive reinforcement is crucial to one's success.

[Tonya Colvin]

You're doing a great job.

[Linda Ernst]

This is what we train for.

[Narrator/Host]

These friends of mine, they all live for something bigger than themselves. Starfleet.

[Linda Ernst]

Starfleet Academy.

[Greg Smithson]

New series now streaming on Paramount plus.