Guilty verdict in Emily Longley murder trial

Dear Bloggers,


If you would remember, several days ago for those of you who saw it, I did a post on the EL (Emily Longley) trial. The former boyfriend of New Zealand teenager Emily Longley has been found guilty of murdering her.The jury of eleven men and one woman at Winchester Crown Court in southern England returned a unanimous verdict on Elliot Turner after nine hours of deliberations overnight.Turner, 20, was found guilty of strangling 17-year-old Longley during a heated argument on May 7 last year at his family home in Bournemouth, south England.





Elliot's parents, Leigh and Anita Turner, have also been found guilty of perverting the course of justice on a majority vote of 10 to two from the jury.On learning the verdict, Elliot shook his head, mouthed the word "f***" and put his head in his hands.The court heard Longley had ended her relationship with Elliot shortly before her death. The "jealous and unpredictable" Elliot had threatened her repeatedly and boasted of his violent intentions to a number of his friends.In one incident, Elliot went to a Bournemouth wine bar armed with a brick and hammer, and threatened a man he thought was a rival.Detective Inspector Neil Devoto said evidence showed Elliot's behaviour became more aggressive toward Longley."He could not accept that Emily no longer wished to be his girlfriend and his obsessive nature clearly spiralled out of control," he said."He planned Emily's killing, convincing her to spend the night at his bedsit and even going as far as to practice strangle holds with one of his friends."Devoto said the jury dismissed Elliot's "baseless" claims that he was acting in self-defence.Elliot will be given a compulsory life sentence for the verdict. The period of non-parole is likely to be decided on tomorrow.

Confession letter claim

Elliot last week changed his plea of intent to pervert the course of justice after previously pleading not guilty.Leigh Turner, 53 and Anita Turner, 50, were also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.They will be sentenced in four weeks.Devoto said Elliot confided in his parents about the death, instead of calling emergency services, who also chose not to seek medical assistance immediately."They used this time to ensure that their stories matched up before they spoke with the police," he said."Desperate to protect their son, Leigh and Anita Turner destroyed what we believe to be a confession letter from Elliot Turner and also removed a jacket from the scene."The verdict comes at the end of a complex investigation by Dorset Police, which Devoto said was made harder by the actions of the Turner family.