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Melissa Turner: Cosplay model who fatally stabbed lover while yelling ‘f**king die’ found guilty

Detective Ryan Lagasse told jurors that video footage showed Turner yelling "f***ing die" as she stabbed her companion
UPDATED FEB 22, 2022
Matthew Trussler told jurors that she stabbed Matthew Trussler in self-defense after he choked her and grabbed a knife (Lawyer handout and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
Matthew Trussler told jurors that she stabbed Matthew Trussler in self-defense after he choked her and grabbed a knife (Lawyer handout and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)

On Friday, February 18, Melissa Turner, 29, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of her partner at their house in 2019. On October 18, 2019, cops discovered 25-year-old Matthew Trussler dead with stab wounds and lying in a pool of his own blood inside his Hillsborough County home.

The next day, Turner was apprehended and charged with a single count of second-degree murder. She told jurors during her trial that she was attempting to defend herself after her partner reportedly choked her in alcohol-induced rage.

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Turner, who testified on Thursday, cried as she described how Trussler had awakened her up in the middle of the night after a full day of drinking, and the couple had started arguing. Turner alleged that when a fight broke out, her boyfriend choked her and pushed her across a counter before taking a knife. She told the court that she was afraid Trussler "was going to kill me," so she grabbed the blade and stabbed him in the back when he put it down to start strangling her again.

However, earlier this week, prosecution witness and first responder Detective Ryan Lagasse told jurors that video footage showed Turner yelling "f***ing die" as she stabbed her companion. Turner is seen breaking a glass and yelling "so f***ing die" and "so f***ing arrogant, I hate you" on video obtained by a neighbor's home surveillance camera. The suspect's lawyer, John Trevena, contends the tape "manipulated" Turner's speech, but admits it was her.

"Expert testimony from our audio/video expert Bruce Koenig [is] that the Nest video/audio recording from a neighbor across the street was manipulated in select areas to amplify the volume to make it sound like Ms. Turner was screaming much louder and the portions wherein the alleged victim is speaking are completely inaudible," Trevena told Law & Crime. "Further, there are the issues of self-defense and heat of passion."

According to Law & Crime, officials are questioning why the accused waited four hours to report her boyfriend's death and then reportedly changed her narrative mere hours after deputies arrived on the scene and discovered her coated in dried blood.

Trussler was pronounced dead at the site by Hillsborough County Fire, and the county's Chief Medical Examiner later found the victim had a defensive wound in his right forearm. Trussler also had a major cut on his upper bicep, a large wound in the middle of his back, a tiny cut on his right shoulder, and a large wound in the middle of his back, according to Dr. Mary Mainland.

Turner turned down a plea deal that would have her serving 25 years in jail, according to court documents filed last week. She will also be evicted from the home she and Trussler purchased months before his death due to foreclosure.

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