In 1995, a Navy SEAL named Billy Joe Brown got drunk and killed a young woman in a car outside a nightclub in Virginia Beach. He told Richmond attorney Steve Northup that he just snapped.
“He was sitting right behind her -- fiddling with her hair, and she reached back and slapped his hand, and he immediately reached over the headrest and put her in a chokehold and broke her neck," Northup explains.
His swim buddy – Dustin Turner – was at the wheel and felt bound by Seal code not to abandon Brown.
“They actually disposed of the body," Northup says. "Then for a week, Dusty joined Billy in lying that they knew nothing about what had happened to her.”
When Dusty Turner told a Navy officer what actually transpired, he was advised to share his story with police.
“He was a good guy who made a terrible mistake when he was 20 years old," Northup concludes.
His claim led Billy Joe Brown to blame Turner for the crime. Both were convicted and received long sentences. In 2008, Turner appealed and Brown admitted he had lied.
“The judge found them both credible, and concluded that Dusty had no role in either the murder or the physical restraining of the victim.”
But the full Court of Appeals and Virginia’s Supreme Court were not convinced. Turner has now served more than 30 years. With pro bono help from Northup and lawyer Fred Gerson, he is expected to win parole on Wednesday.
