By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-20 00:48:16 | Updated at 2024-11-23 18:36:50
3 days ago
The sister of an Arizona teen who vanished without a trace at the age of 17 in 2001 is more determined than ever to bring her killer to justice.
Sarah Turney, now 36, has tried everything to find out what happened to her older half-sister, Alissa Turney, but she believes her own father Michael Turney is solely responsible for her death.
'I'll never forgive my father. He's one of the worst people out there,' Sarah told People Magazine of her dad.
But Michael Turney, 76, a former sheriff's deputy and electrician, called in a missing persons report that evening. He was acquitted of all charges in the murder in 2023 based on a lack of evidence in the case.
Turney stood trial for second-degree murder charges in the presumed death of his stepdaughter Alissa who vanished in May 2001 after she reportedly left a note that she was running away to California. Alissa has never been found.
'Even to this day, there's never been a single search for Alissa, despite the Phoenix Police Department telling the media exactly where they want to search,' Sarah told People.
'When I've asked, I'm repeatedly told that the area is too vast and it's too dangerous. At this point, I'll settle for just one search. Just one.'
At the trial, prosecutors argued that Turney and Alissa had a turbulent relationship and that he had hundreds of surveillance tapes of her in an attempt to control her life. But the defense pushed back, saying there was no evidence that she was even dead.
Alissa Turney vanished on the last day of school in May 2001 at the age of 17. Her body has never been found
Sarah Turney was only 12 years old when her sister Alissa vanished. It was her social media campaign for justice years later that led to the arrest of her own father Michael Turney in 2020
Sarah's father and Alissa's stepfather, Michael Turney stood trial on second degree murder charges but was acquitted
'I always thought growing up that Alissa had behavioral problems and that my dad [and Alissa's stepfather] didn't like that and was quite controlling,' Sarah explained noting how her father intimidated Alissa and would also surveil her while using psychological and physical abuse against her.
Sarah who was a key witness in the trial and whose social media campaign for justice helped lead to his arrest in 2020, pieced together painful memories from her childhood in Phoenix and gathered chilling evidence.
Alissa was last seen in May 2001 at her Phoenix home on the last day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School.
Sister, Sarah, who was 12 at the time, said she remembers Alissa being excited for summer and planning to attend a graduation party later that evening - but Alissa never showed up.
She had told her boyfriend at school that her stepfather was picking her up for lunch.
Michael Turney previously told authorities that he picked Alissa up from her last day of school around 11am and took her out to lunch.
He said they got into an argument over Alissa's desire for more freedom.
When they returned home, he said Alissa was still angry and went to her room.
Alissa Turney is pictured at age 17, left, with her pictured age progressed to 32
There was a note in Alissa's loopy handwriting stating that she was running away to California
The sisters' mother, Barbara Strahm, died of cancer when Alissa was eight years old
Stepfather Michael Turney reported her missing, but told authorities that she left a note saying she was running away to California.
While Sarah said that it seemed plausible, she left her cell phone, money and makeup behind - all elements that investigators found strange.
'Alissa was saving her money and planning to move out when she turned 18, not to run away. But a handwriting expert did confirm it was her writing,' Sarah said to People.
'I thought Alissa had abandoned me, and I was very, very hurt, so I wasn't really looking for another motivation. My dad basically convinced me that she was unhappy and that she left.'
In 2008, investigators re-interviewed witnesses and ended up serving search warrants on Turney's home.
The search led to the discovery of more than two dozen unregistered pipe bombs belonging to Turney. He served time for those crimes and released in 2017.
Sarah has tried to keep attention on the case through her social media and her podcast 'Voices for Justice'.
During the 2023 trial she testified against her own father telling the court how he allegedly brainwashed her into thinking that Alissa was a rebellious teenager who ran away to California.
But over the years, Sarah said she grew suspicious of her own father and that as his renditions of what happened that day changed every time, it led her to search for her own answers.
He has continued to maintain his innocence throughout the investigation, and continues to do so to this day.
Michael Turney went on trial in 2023 for second degree murder in the death of his stepdaughter Alissa Turney, 17, but he was acquitted of the charges
Alissa, 17, was last seen May 17, 2001. She is presumed dead but her body has never been found
Close as can be: Sarah said her half-sister was like a mother to her when she was growing up
When she met up with her father in 2017 at a local Starbucks and pushed him for an explanation, he wouldn't give it to her.
'He told me he would tell me on his death bed,' Sarah recalled, adding that he said he would confess to everything if the state agreed to give him a lethal injection within 10 days.'
Sarah says that when she spoke to him, it finally erased any doubt of him being responsible for Alissa's death in her mind.
'I knew that he wasn't going to be kind, and I knew that he wasn't going to tell me the truth, but it was the first time I was able to speak to him in so many years outside of a recorded prison line or without some detention officer watching him, and I was hoping that he would slip up. And he certainly did with many of his statements. It was awful and so shocking.
'It erased the 0.01% of doubt I had in my mind that he could have been innocent. It sealed everything for me.'
Sarah also spoke in court about the troubled relationship between Turney and Alissa.
During the trial, audio of a phone call between Turney and Michael Seth was played for the jury where Turney could be heard calling her an a**hole and b****h.
Alissa is pictured with her stepfather, Michael Turney. Alissa's mother had died of cancer years earlier
Sarah, left, and Alissa Turney, right, were close as sisters growing up in Arizona
Turney is wheeled in during opening statements at Maricopa County Court in Phoenix in July 2023
Sarah Turney is pictured with her father, celebrating her 18th birthday at Disneyland
When police executed search warrants at the house back in 2008, they found videotapes dating back to the 1980s, including surveillance footage from the house, but did not find any videos from the day she disappeared.
In court it was revealed how Turney had been filming Alissa in their home and how he had hundreds of surveillance videos of her.
Sarah also dug through old home videos in the search for clued and found footage of her sister calling their father a pervert. The year was 1997.
'I was freaked out. I was terrified when I first saw it. I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' My first thought is how did the police miss this? And then my second thought was, I need to share this with people,' Sarah said.
Turney also tapped Alissa's phone and allegedly made her sign a contract in which she stated that he never sexually assaulted her, the prosecution claimed.
But trial essentially fell apart after the defense argued that there wasn't any DNA or blood evidence to prove that Turney killed Alissa.
They also pointed out that without a body, there is no definitive proof that Alissa isn't still alive.
'When my boyfriend told me that everyone thought that my sister was killed by him, that was obviously really huge for me,' Sarah said to People.
'It became very apparent that I was the only person who didn't believe this, I was in denial. He was my only living parent and my entire life was shattered.'
Sarah's account has more than 1 million followers. Footage from a home video of Alissa calling Michael a 'pervert' in 1997 has been viewed tens of millions of times
Sarah shared haunting home videos on social media and started a podcast called 'Voices for Justice' - which began as a platform for Alissa then turned into an outlet to help other victims
In May 2020 she began making videos on TikTok that focused on the case
Sarah has been working to prove her dad was involved in Alissa's disappearance and started a TikTok account in April 2020 to draw attention to the case
In 2019, Sarah she started her own podcast, 'Voices For Justice,' which detailed their family history, events leading up to Alissa's disappearance and a timeline of what has happened in the years since.
In May 2020 she also began making videos on TikTok that focused on the case. She now has more than 1.1 million followers.
'Believe it or not, it has become an important outlet for Alissa's story,' she told NBC. 'This is not going away and I'm going to make sure it never does.
'I still think of her as my tough older sister who taught me to be tough. Now, I need to continue to be tough and use that to fight for the justice she deserves. She deserves her day in court. And I'm determined to give her that,' Sarah said.
'I've lost personal relationships over it. I've destroyed my employability — and it's all for her. Unfortunately, there is no true crime entertainment without trauma. It's extremely difficult and painful, and I have given up truly my entire life for her. I will never give up.'
