Dr. Kirk Turner

Dr. Kirk Turner’s story of self-defense was featured on 48 Hours Mystery this past Saturday night. You either believe, like the jury did, that he killed his wife in self-defense after she came at him with a spear, or you believe he outright murdered his wife–no spear involved. To me, after watching the show, the evidence clearly does not support self-defense.

The defense wants us to believe that Jennifer Turner, Kirk’s wife, attacked Kirk with a seven-foot long spear and yet Kirk was able to pull out a measly four-inch little pocket knife to overcome her. Put the two at odds in two opposing people’s hands– a four inch pocket knife and a seven-foot long spear. Play it out. Who is logically going to win? It’s certainly not the pocket knife.

This case is not about facial expressions, emotions or micro expressions. This is a case about logic. One plus one in this story clearly equals two, if you add up the pieces.

Read moreFor Kirk to kill his wife, he had to knock the spear out of his wife hands, but he never talks about that. It’s never discussed from what I can tell. We see no evidence whatsoever that even supports that Jennifer even had the spear–which is the key fact in this case. If I were a prosecutor, my whole case would rest on the fact that if you can’t definitively place the spear in Jennifer’s hands, this was homicide. Period.

The second most important fact in this case? Jennifer’s fingerprints were not found on the spear. Hello! We cannot ignore this.

The next most important element in this case are the forensics. According to Kirk, as he turned around, she was stabbing him so he pulled his pocket knife out and stabbed her in self-defense. It all happened while they were standing. But the blood spatter evidence is clear, Jennifer was killed while on or near the ground — not where Kirk says.

A forensic expert also found dried blood from Jennifer below fresh blood from Kirk. How come a jury ignored this? It’s mind boggling!

I guess they believed the doubt that the defense attorney put in their ears, “The fact that there was only his blood in that pocket…definitely shows that he had suffered all of his wounds before he ever went to defend himself” (to reach in his pocket and get his knife).

Wait a minute!

What if Kirk reached for the knife before any altercation? That would explain why Jennifer’s blood never was found in his pocket!

What if Jennifer never used a spear to stab Kirk, but Kirk stabbed her first?

We wouldn’t expect to find her blood in his pocket.

That defense explanation has serious holes and the jury fell for it? What happened to critical thinking?

48 Hours asks, “How important is that blood in the pocket?” The defense says, “Ah…critical. It’s probably the key fact in the case.”

Yes, it is a key fact in the case along with many others that Kirk is not being honest with us. I believe Jennifer never had that spear and the evidence and the story seem to strongly support this.

Kirk says, “I remember turning around and seeing a symmetrical silver thing in my leg.” When Kirk says this, there are absolutely no emotions of pain or fear or shock or anything whatsoever . He says it as if he noticed a stone under his foot. When we experience something painful, we have emotional memories that form along with the experience, but Kirk seems to be void of them here. It’s a huge red flag for me.

Kirk was asked if he remembered going into his pocket to get his knife. He says no. Isn’t that odd? He feared for his life supposedly, but he doesn’t remember reaching for something that supposedly would save him? Ridiculous!

Then he says he remembers flailing his arms around (side to side) “going like this”. His behavior as he demonstrates it wouldn’t scratch a flea, forget murdering someone by nearly decapitating them. To me, it is utter nonsense–another big strike against Kirk.

While everyone is supposedly liked in this group of players as good people, one thing is for sure: Several people spoke out that Jennifer was afraid her husband might kill her. Two friends attested to this on 48 Hours as did her daughter, and when I watched them, I believed them. All three of them. Another strike against Kirk.

When Wendy, the couple’s daughter, testified that her mother told her that her dad said there was more than one way to end a marriage, I think most people get the drift of that means. Kirk, however, tells us that he meant “separation”. Did anyone believe that? Another strike.

I get a distinct sense watching Kirk on the stand as he complains about having to work on the barn that he was simply jealous of his wife’s love of horses. He says, “We had no time at all together.” You can see the anger, if you watch closely.

Kirk was obviously a rich enough man he could afford to pay workers to care for the barn, so his excuse that he had to work on it doesn’t make logical sense to me. It does, however, support that this is the source of his anger. Did her love of horses alienate his affection? Is that what he thought? Is that why her alienation of affection lawsuit against his lover make him so furious? If you recall, his son also repeated similar words about her love of horses ruining their relationship.

Even though Jennifer is the one who filed for divorce, 48 Hours reports that Kirk said Jennifer offered him a sweetheart deal to drop everything (the alienation of affection lawsuit and the divorce) if he moved home. According to Kirk, she said he could even continue to see his lover, Tonya. When Kirk says this, watch Tonya, his lover, drop her head.

To me, it’s a good indication she likely knows this is not the truth. I certainly don’t believe this story. There is no logic behind it whatsoever. Its a male fantasy, if you ask me. Why would any sane woman do that? It defies logic. She was in the drivers seat at that time, not Kirk, and he knew it. She was to get $30,000 a month from him. Which begs to ask, was money his motive, too?

The defense also says that “if Greg Smithson is telling the truth, Kirk is not guilty of homicide”.

I wish Greg would have told more of his story when he was outside the courtroom. You must remember, though, we do not know when the interview with Greg and 48 Hours took place. It may have taken place after the trial, which is key here. If it was taken after the trial, the stakes would have been much lower at this point.

However, when we witness Greg on the stand, we get to see the real man and his emotions under pressure and did he look like he was going to burst! Greg is so nervous, he can’t keep his hands steady. He is sweating profusely. He breaks his glasses. He shakes like a leaf–as if he is about to have a nervous breakdown. Why is he so nervous? If he was honest, he would have no reason to become so flustered. He wasn’t that flustered when he talked to 48 Hours outside the courtroom, was he? Interesting. It’s a huge red flag he has something to hide, if you ask me.

I wish they would have tested the spear for Greg’s fingerprints. Could he have been the one to stab Kirk?

It’s obvious that Kirk wanted to strong-arm Jennifer the day she was killed. Kirk brought two papers over to the house– a document to force the sale of the farm where she lived, and an affidavit from her first husband, stating that her first marriage failed because of her obsessive love of horses (which further supports the jealousy factor for me).

Kirk testifies about the documents, “I just wanted to show Jennifer that I didn’t want this to get ugly and that if he had to proceed…in court…that it wasn’t going to be nice for either one of us.” If you ask me, Kirk is not talking from the heart here. He appears to show signs of thinking on his feet.

Kirk at another point says about the documents, “I never thought about it as a threat.” He didn’t think it was a threat?? If you bring documents that are threatening to sell my home where I live with my horses, I will see that as a threat. Does anyone see that differently?

Furthermore, according to 48 Hours reporter, “Smithson swears the fatal encounter…happened in a flash in the two or three minutes after Smithson left the shed and he insists there was no cover up. No time for Kirk to stab himself… Smithson figures it was around 8:00PM when a wounded Kirk came stumbling toward him from the shed. But he didn’t call 911 until 9:35…leaving 90 minutes unaccounted for.”

Smithson’s explanation for the time gap? He must have been confused.

Oops.

I’m not buying it.

Is there any evidence anywhere that supports that Jennifer ever held that spear as Kirk said? Anyone? I’m all ears…