Quite often, missing persons cases and disappearances frustrate me to no end, especially when we’re left without a resolution. In the case of the disappearance of Alissa Turney, the resolution seems so close, yet so far, amplifying that frustration tenfold.
Alissa Turney was born on April 3rd, 1984 and lived in Paradise Valley, Arizona. She lived with her mother, her step-father Michael, and her half-sister Sarah. At 3 years old, Alissa’s mother passed away, leaving the two girls with their widower father, who proceeded with officially adopting Alissa in order to keep the family together.
Alissa also had four older brothers. Her brothers had moved out of the house by the time Alissa was a teenager, though she still spoke to them fairly regularly.
In 2001, Alissa was a normal teenager. She had a boyfriend, whom she cared about very dearly, and also had a part-time job at a fast food restaurant. Alissa was trying to gain her own independence, and stay out of her house as much as possible.
Michael Turney, Alissa’s step-father, was very controlling over Alissa’s behaviour, and tended to treat her far differently than he treated her sister, Sarah. Alissa made it no secret that she was highly uncomfortable in her own home.
On May 17th, 2001, 17-year-old Alissa was attending the last day of her junior year of high school. Alissa was dropped off by Turney, and then he allegedly took her out for lunch in order to celebrate. He then pulled her out of school early after lunch. Alissa had popped into her boyfriend’s woodworking class to inform him that she was leaving early.
However, Turney claimed that he had not done so. He claimed that he’d taken her to lunch, where they got into an argument. He claimed that Alissa had stormed off, and he went after her. He then drove her home, and left her in her bedroom, upset, at around 1:00 PM while he ran errands.
Later that same afternoon, Sarah went looking for her sister after school. When she entered Alissa’s bedroom, she supposedly found a hand-written note, in Alissa’s handwriting, stating the following:
“Dad and Sarah, When you dropped me off at school today, I decided I really am going to California. Sarah, you said you really wanted me gone – now you have it. Dad, I took $300 from you. That’s why I saved my money.”
Despite the note stating that Alissa had left of her own volition, she’d left her personal belongings behind, including her cell phone and wallet.
Alissa’s friends reported that they’d been unable to get a hold of her. She was supposed to meet them at a party to celebrate the end of the school year, but she never made it.
A week later, on the 24th, Turney allegedly received a phone call from a California number. He claimed that the call was from Alissa, where she swore at him before hanging up. To Turney, this meant that Alissa was safe and well.
Phone records indicated that the call had come from Riverside, California, and had lasted 29 seconds.
The call had not been recorded, and there was no way to know with 100% certainty that the call had come from Alissa.
While Turney filed a missing person’s report on the 17th, law enforcement treated the case as a voluntary runaway situation, and no investigation took place. When Turney reported the call a week later, investigators more or less called the case closed, and assumed Alissa had left of her own volition, and no foul play had taken place.
Alissa did have a brother who lived in California, and it was thought that she’d gone to see him. However, he indicated that he hadn’t heard from Alissa after her disappearance, nor had she dropped in to see him.
For years, Alissa’s disappearance sat dormant, leads so few and far between, there was practically nothing to follow.
However, in 2006, the case picked up again when a self-proclaimed serial killer claimed responsibility for Alissa’s murder.
Thomas Albert Hymer had been in prison for an unrelated murder when he told a guard that he had been the one who murdered Alissa Turney. Phoenix law enforcement were eager to speak to him, and questioned him about the events.
In the end, they were able to determine that Hymer had not had any contact with Alissa. He had simply confused her case for a different victim, re-traumatizing Alissa’s friends and family.
However, these events sparked an interest in Alissa’s case.
In 2008, Alissa’s disappearance was re-opened, and an investigation – beyond declaring her a voluntary runaway – began.
Michael Turney had fallen under suspicion in the years since Alissa had gone missing. Through all that time, Sarah stood by her father, and defended him to naysayers. Sarah was shocked and scared when she was told in December of 2008 that law enforcement considered her father to be their prime suspect in Alissa’s disappearance.
When the case had been re-opened, investigators spoke to those close to Alissa, including her friends, teachers, coworkers, and her high school sweetheart.
Through witness interviews, they discovered that Micheal Turney had purchased a large amount of lye just before Alissa went missing. He had also purchased an alarming amount of concrete. Though Turney claimed that he had purchased the substances for work on an undisclosed project, it did cross the minds of investigators that lye could be used to cover the smell of decay, and concrete could be poured over a body.
While that in itself was suspicious, investigators also learned that Turney had an unhealthy obsession with his step-daughter.
Alissa’s friends and boyfriend informed investigators that Turney had tried to sexually assault Alissa on more than one occasion. She was uncomfortable around him, and he was extremely controlling of her behaviour.
Turney had surveillance equipment all over the house, which captured Alissa on video in many intimate moments – such as getting changed in her bedroom, or taking a shower. He also followed her to and from work, and often watched her through binoculars from his car.
With suspicion against Michael Turney heightening, investigators were granted a search warrant, and descended on the Turney home.
Their search seized more than two dozen explosive devices, 19 firearms, 2 homemade silencers, or suppressors, and a van full of gasoline. They were also able to collect hours upon hours of video footage Turney had taken of Alissa through the surveillance equipment he had set up around the house, and then kept.
They also found a manifesto Turney had written which outlined his rage towards the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He had also outlined an extremely graphic, and detailed, plan to rampage against the IBEW building in Phoenix.
Most disturbingly, law enforcement found “contracts” that Turney had seemingly forced Alissa to sign. One such contract went so far as to state that Turney had never molested Alissa.
Michael Turney was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in jail on various charges.
While Turney was serving his sentence, the Phoenix Police Department began planning their case against him for the presumed murder of Alissa Turney. They informed Sarah of their plan, and she began feeling suspicious of her father as well. As they laid out their case, Sarah was heartbroken – she had to face the reality that her father had, most likely, been the cause of Alissa’s disappearance one way or another.
Days before Turney was released, the investigators who had been working on Alissa’s case were suddenly reassigned to other cases and departments without explanation. Sarah was informed that they wouldn’t be charging or prosecuting her father for Alissa’s disappearance at that time.
But that didn’t mean anyone gave up.
In August of 2020, 19 years after her disappearance, Michael Turney was arrested in Mesa, Arizona and charged by a grand jury of the second-degree murder of Alissa Turney.
For the next three years, prosecutors prepared their case.
The trial began in July of 2023. On July 17th, prosecutors rested their case. Turney’s defense team submitting an official request for acquittal. They argued that the prosecution had been unable to provide physical evidence – most noticeably, Alissa’s body – and therefore could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their client had any involvement in Alissa’s disappearance.
Prosecutors responded that at 17, Alissa had been terrified of her step-father. They told the judge that he had surveilled her in her private moments, against her will, and at her place of work for years. They didn’t believe for a single second that Alissa would leave voluntarily without her belongings, or her phone. They believed that Turney had murdered her to stop her from reporting his behaviour, and attempted sexual assaults.
In the end, the judge ruled in favour of the defense. Michael Turney was acquitted of all charges.
As of the time of this writing, Alissa’s body has not been found, and Michael Turney remains the primary suspect in her disappearance, and possible murder.
Sarah, Alissa’s sister, has not given up the search for answers. Sarah hosts the podcast Voices for Justice, which dives deep into Alissa’s disappearance, and her determination to find answers. Sarah also discusses cases of other missing persons.
Sarah has come to terms with the possibility that her father is involved in Alissa’s disappearance, and is determined to see justice done.
The Voices of Justice podcast can be found wherever you get your podcasts. As quoted from the website, “Every episode ends with a call to action. Don’t just listen to their stories, be a voice for them.”
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Sources:
The Disappearance Of Alissa Turney, The Missing Teen Allegedly Killed By Her Stepfather – Kaleena Fraga, edited by Adam Farley – All That’s Interesting
Everything About Alissa Turney’s Case That Has Been Released To The Public – Eric Luis – Ranker
Stepfather charged with murder of Alissa Turney who disappeared on last day of school in Phoenix, Arizona in 2001 – Andrea Cavallier – NBC News
Generation Why podcast – Alissa Turney – 385
Disappearance of Alissa Turney Wikipedia page