James Turner

Serial Killer

James Turner: The Life-Insurance Murder Suspect

Overview

James Turner was an American convicted murderer and suspected serial killer whose name became associated with a disturbing series of deaths and disappearances in the Rochester, New York, area between 1963 and 1975. Most of the people connected to Turner were relatives, friends, or coworkers. A repeated and highly suspicious feature of the cases was that Turner had been named as the beneficiary of a life-insurance policy belonging to the victim. Investigators eventually examined at least seven cases involving Turner. Several deaths had originally been classified as accidents or suicides, while one victim disappeared and was never found. Turner was convicted only of murdering his 20-year-old brother-in-law, Dwight Dees. The evidence was insufficient to charge him with the other suspected killings, and he should therefore be described as a suspected serial killer rather than as the legally proven perpetrator of every death connected to him.

Early Background and Insurance Connections

Turner was reportedly born in Florida in approximately 1931. He later moved to Rochester, New York, where he worked at industrial plants and established a reputation as a dependable employee and attentive neighbor. People living near him described Turner as hardworking, quiet, and willing to help others. He sometimes cleared snow from sidewalks for neighbors who could not do the work themselves. Behind this respectable public image, however, investigators discovered a succession of insurance arrangements involving people who later died under violent, unexplained, or suspicious circumstances. Turner frequently became close to coworkers and relatives before being designated as the beneficiary of their policies. In certain cases, the policies were changed shortly before the insured person died. The financial structure surrounding the deaths became the central theory of the investigation. Authorities suspected that Turner cultivated relationships with people who could be persuaded to purchase insurance or replace their normal beneficiaries with him. Their deaths could then be presented as accidents, suicides, or unrelated crimes, allowing Turner to attempt to collect the proceeds without immediately attracting attention. ...

Confirmed Victims: (1)

Dwight Dees Age: (20), Date of Death: 1975-01-22

Suspected Victims:

Unnamed sister , Date of Death: 1963-04-14

John Louis Brown , Date of Death: 1964-06

Frank Scialdone Age: (18), Date of Death: 1968-11-19

William Bradwell Age: (23), Date of Death: 1969-05

Lewis McDowell Age: (29), Date of Death: 1969-12-02

Horace Everett , Date of Death: 1971-07

Serial Killer James Turner