Suspect in 7 Indy slayings surrenders
INDIANAPOLIS - A man suspected of gunning down seven family members he believed kept large amounts of money in their home surrendered to police on Saturday, authorities said.
A few members of Desmond Turner's family accompanied him as he met authorities at a downtown fast-food restaurant around 7 p.m.
"He couldn't look at anybody," Deputy Chief Tim Foley said. "He had his head down. He was sullen."
The bodies of three boys, ages 5 to 11, and four adult relatives were found dead in a house Thursday in the worst mass murder in Indianapolis in at least 25 years.
Turner, 28, grew up in the area and had returned last fall after being released from prison following a 3 1/2-year term for drug and weapons charges.
Foley said investigators put pressure on people who knew Turner to ensure that they wouldn't take him in.
"He didn't turn himself in out of remorse. He turned himself in because he had no place to go," Foley said.
More than 100 police officers had searched for Turner, including unsuccessful raids at two houses, since shortly after the slayings. He now faces seven counts of murder.
On Friday, police arrested another suspect, 30-year-old James Stewart, after a traffic stop. He was being held Saturday on a preliminary charge of murder, police said.
"Indianapolis can sleep a lot easier tonight," Deputy Police Chief Clifford Myers said.
Foley said police believe the suspects targeted the home for robbery after hearing exaggerated accounts of money and other valuables inside. Those accounts were "fiction," Foley said.
Nearly 30 shell casings from an assault rifle were found at the home.
Foley said that although the decision of whether to pursue capital murder charges belongs to prosecutors, "If I was a betting man, I'd say there's a high likelihood this is going to be a death penalty case."
The victims were identified as Emma Valdez, 46; her husband, Alberto Covarrubias, 56; their sons Alberto Covarrubias, 11, and David Covarrubias, 8 or 9; Valdez's daughter, Flora Albarran, 22; Albarran's 5-year-old son, Luis; and Albarran's brother Magno Albarran, 29.
Maria Flores, whose sister was killed, stood quietly as police briefed the media about Turner's surrender.
"We are very relieved and thankful that he made the right decision," she said. "I just hope God forgives him for what he did."
Neighbors, friends and others left flowers, ribbons, candles, dozens of stuffed animals and an angel statue along a sidewalk in front of the family's house in a working-class neighborhood. Cars drove by slowly while people knelt to pray. A memorial service was to be held in front of the family's home Sunday evening.
"God shall bring justice to them, celebrate the way they lived, not the way they left us," read one note left atop seven red roses at the family's modest tan house. "A good family is gone, but not forgotten. Shall they all rest in peace."
Adults and children, many in tears, streamed through nearby Thomas D. Gregg Elementary, where David and Alberto had attended classes, to speak with grief counselors Saturday.
"The boys were very respectful of the school, good students and well-behaved," Principal Les Durbin told The Indianapolis Star. "They were very well-respected by their classmates and their parents were very involved in their educations."
