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Elliot Turner: jailed for murdering 'trophy' girlfriend

PUBLISHED May 22, 2012
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Public school educated Elliot Turner, 20, "flipped out" and killed Emily Longley, 17, in his bed after he became suspicious she was having an affair.

His father, jeweller Leigh Turner, 54, and health care assistant mother Anita, 51, covered up the murder.

Sentencing him on Tuesday, at Winchester Crown Court, Mrs Justice Linda Dobbs described Turner's lack of remorse as "chilling".

On Monday following a four week trial, Turner was found guilty of strangling his 17-year-old girlfriend, while his parents were convicted of perverting the course of justice.

On Tuesday, Turner was jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum 16 years in prison.

He had pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice earlier in the trial, in which he was handed a nine month sentence to run concurrently.

His parents have been bailed to a later date, but have been warned they too face jail. His father sat near the dock as he was sentenced.

Emily's family were also allowed to sit by the dock as Turner, wearing a smart suit, open neck shirt and handkerchief, swore as he was handed the life sentence.

The judge told him: "By your actions you have deprived a large, tight knit family of a daughter, granddaughter and sister.

"You have deprived young people both here and in New Zealand of a good friend.

"The descriptions of Emily Longley paint a picture of a fun loving girl who brought a ray of sunshine into the lives of those she touched."

She added: "You have extinguished that light suddenly and needlessly. You told your parents you loved Emily Longley but you do not know the meaning of love.

"Loving someone is not seeking to control that person's life, not telling someone they are a whore, not telling friends to threaten them and not slagging them off to friends.

"You did not love her - she was just a trophy. The relationship, if that's what it can be called, was all about you."

The judge continued: "It was about control, control which you carried out using aggression and threats. You could not be seen to be dumped by her or be seen to look like an idiot in front of your friends.

"Your anger grew, your resentment built up and festered. Your arrogance during your relationship with Emily Longley, during your time on remand and even throughout this trial has been breathtaking.

"Your lack of remorse is chilling. The harrowing accounts in the statements I have read from her family detail the devastating affect your actions have had. "Emily's mother said 'no parent should have to plan their child's funeral."

The judge added the murder had been premeditated and Turner strangled her, to which Turner mouthed "bull----".

She added: "You bullied, threatened and assaulted Emily. The sentence will not bring Emily back or bring her justice.

"You can put away your thoughts of champagne, Bentleys and girls and concentrate on why you are serving a life sentence."

Outside court, Emily's father Mark said: "We are extremely relieved this has come to an end and we can put this behind us.

"His lack of remorse has been chilling and every day his mum has looked me in the eye. I wasn't surprised Elliot showed no reaction although I'm sure he will be feeling it.

"This trial has been horrific and we've had to digest these horrendous facts.

"We are pleased he is not on the streets now. He's an incredibly dangerous person and we are relieved he cannot do this again."

Emily's mum Caroline added: "I found it fantastic to look him the eye when the judge was saying those things and gave him a telling off.

"What the judge said to him was almost to the word what we wanted to say.

"One of the important things was getting justice but also that Elliot will be off the streets."

During the trial the court heard Turner had gone "absolutely nuts" after he found flirty messages on Emily's Facebook account and saw photos of her with "Cheeky Buff Butlers" as part of a modelling assignment.

Dubbed 'All Talk Turner' by his associates because of his boasting, Turner was well known around the bars and clubs of Bournemouth and Poole where he headed up a gang of wealthy young men known locally as The Firm.

Funding his lifestyle through handouts from his parents, the 20-year-old bodybuilder met Miss Longley just four months before he killed her.

The court heard how he displayed signs of extreme jealousy and obsession and eventually began making daily threats to kill against Miss Longley.

In early 2011, the part-time model returned to her native New Zealand to see her parents, but Turner had monitored her activities on Facebook and had become incensed when he thought she was seeing other men.

When she returned, Turner's obsession only increased and the court heard how in the days before her death he had turned up to a club in Bournemouth, armed with a lump hammer and threatening to kill her.

On the night she died the pair had a violent argument in a café, before she agreed to go back to his home in the affluent Queen's Park area of Bournemouth.

Turner claimed in court that he had grabbed Miss Longley around the neck when she physically attacked him, but insisted he had not intended to kill her.

He told the jury when he stormed out of the bedroom he had believed she was sleeping and only discovered her lifeless body the following morning when he went in to wake her.

When arrested at the scene he had his passport in his pocket and his bags packed, the court heard.

However a lack of conclusive evidence led the police to bug the family home and Mr Turner was heard admitting using bleach to destroy a confessional note his son had penned.

During another discussion Mrs Turner is heard refusing to accept that her son had done anything wrong, leading her husband to comment: "He (Elliot) f****** strangled her."

Mr Longley said the family could now move on and grieve for Emily.

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