'F***ing die': Chilling video reveals model Melissa Turner yelled at fiance Matthew Trussler before murder
TAMPA, FLORIDA: A cosplayer reportedly stabbed her fiance to death and claimed it was self-defense before the police found evidence of the killer "screeching" at the victim. Former cosplay model Melissa Turner, 29, recently opened up about the murder of her fiance, Matthew Trussler, whose body was found in their home in October 2019.
The couple reportedly went shopping on October 17, 2019, and had lunch at their home in Tampa, Florida. Trussler, 25, was found dead at the residence just hours later. Turner claimed that she called the cops when she discovered her lover unresponsive the next day. "He is cold," she told the 911 operator. "He is not responsive," Turner added.
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On October 19, 2019, Trussler was found lying in a pool of his own blood with fatal stab wounds. Turner initially told the authorities she didn't know how Trussler died, before investigators obtained a neighbor's surveillance camera footage that happened to be facing the couple's home. Then-sheriff's detective Ryan LaGasse recalled hearing loud voices from the couple's home. "And then I hear what sounds like screaming, yelling," LaGasse told CBS News' '48 Hours'. The former detective said he heard what appeared to be a woman's voice yelling "get up now" and "so f***ing die."
When asked about the screams that were captured on camera, Turner told police that she had no memory of screaming and yelling. However, she eventually admitted to having an argument with her lover. "He woke me up and we got in an argument over that, because he was still up at four in the morning drinking," she said, before claiming the dispute turned physical and that her fiance strangled her, prompting her to grab his knife and stab him. "I thought he was gonna kill me," said Turner.
Investigators asked Turner about a large cut on her hand during the interrogation, and she told them she hurt herself while picking up broken glass earlier that morning. Another chilling detail from that night was captured on a home surveillance camera at the residence. "He's walking calmly, unarmed in the ADT videos, and she's following hunched over angry," said prosecutor Chinwe Fossett.
Prosecutors believe the recording shows blood on Turner's hand from a cut she sustained while stabbing her fiance. Despite her claims during the police interview, Turner was arrested on October 19, 2019, and charged with second-degree murder with a weapon. She went on trial in February 2022 and insisted to the court that she acted in self-defense. "I thought he was going to kill me, and I was trying to get him to stop," she reportedly told the jury. "And I loved him," she added.
Turner's defense argued in court that the couple's voices captured on the neighbor's security camera were tampered with. One audio expert testified that he believed Turner's volume in the recordings was enhanced. "I find it highly suspicious that Ms. Turner's voice is screeching loud," her lawyer John Trevena said.
He added, "But when it came to Matthew Trussler .. you could barely hear mumbling." However, the prosecution vehemently denied that the clip was manipulated. Donald Goodwin, a juror in Turner's trial, said, "They could've walked away from each other and started a different life," but "Melissa Turner chose to kill Matthew Trussler."