Ex-SEAL trainee’s appeal in murder case set for April 14

Read the Richmond Times-Dispatch SPECIAL SERIES: What Happened To Jennifer Evans?

The Virginia Court of Appeals has set oral arguments for April 14 in the case of Dustin Turner, a former Navy SEAL trainee seeking release from prison after his co-defendant confessed to killing a young woman by himself.

Turner, 33, has been serving an 82-year prison sentence for murder in the 1995 killing of Jennifer Evans outside a Virginia Beach nightclub. His co-defendant and former best friend, Billy Joe Brown, is serving a 72-year term for the same crime. When they were arrested, each man accused the other of being the killer.

Last spring, the state Court of Appeals ordered a hearing in Virginia Beach to consider new testimony by Brown, who said he killed Evans with no help from Turner. Brown said he wanted to tell the truth after almost 13 years because he had found religion in prison.

On June 25, Virginia Beach Circuit Judge Frederick B. Lowe concluded that Brown's confession was credible and returned the case to the Court of Appeals. The court must now decide if the new testimony is so critical that had it been presented at Turner's trial, "no rational trier of fact" would have convicted him.

Turner's lawyer, David Hargett of Richmond, argues that Turner, of Bloomington, Ind., should be freed immediately because he has spent 13 years in prison for being guilty only of a misdemeanor of being an accessory after the fact. The state attorney general's office argues that Turner's murder conviction should stand against the word of Brown, who has changed his story repeatedly.

Last fall, the appeals court took the unusual step of ordering a new round of legal briefs and oral arguments -- the arguments set for the 14th.

The Court of Appeals may take months to rule in the case. If the losing side appeals to the Virginia Supreme Court, a final resolution could take well over a year.

Contact Bill Geroux at (757) 498-2820 or