A Davie County woman was found dead Wednesday night at her home after what investigators said was a domestic dispute with her estranged husband. Officials said that she was cut with a knife.
Sheriff Andy Stokes said that his office is investigating the death as a homicide, but no charges have been filed.
Davie County sheriff's deputies responded to a disturbance about 9:45 p.m. at 627 Jack Booe Road a few miles north of Mocksville. They found Jennifer Jean Wittwer Turner, 54, dead in the garage, Capt. J.D. Hartman said.
Her husband, Kirk Alan Turner, a dentist in Clemmons, was also injured. Authorities said that he was taken to a hospital in Winston-Salem, but it was unclear which one. Neither Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center nor Forsyth Medical Center had any information on Turner.
The couple had been separated since at least June of 2006, according to court documents, and Kirk Turner had recently filed for divorce. Jennifer Turner lived in the house alone, Stokes said. The couple had been ordered to stay away from each other, Stokes said.
Kirk Turner went to the house Wednesday night to collect some personal property, Stokes said. He came with a friend, who stayed in the car.
Stokes said that there was some kind of argument and that knives were involved. The Turners were the only people in the house at the time of Jennifer Turner's death, Stokes said.
Kirk Turner and Jerry Chostner operate a dental office in Clemmons. It was closed for the weekend, a voice-mail message said. Chostner could not be reached for comment.
According to court papers, the Turners were married Jan. 8, 1984, in Las Vegas and have two adult children. The Turners had lived in an 8,000-square-foot home on about 35 acres. The property also has a large shop building and two other buildings, according to court papers.
On April 4, 2006, Kirk Turner told his wife that he no longer wanted to be married, and on June 1, Jennifer Turner filed for post-separation support and attorney fees, court papers said.
They accused each other of cheating, according to court records. In a civil suit asking for financial support, Jennifer Turner alleged that her husband came by the house on June 16, 2006, without any notice to pick up some things from the shop building. His attorney had told her that he was planning to come by but did not say when, the court papers said.
"He arrived without notice and the Plaintiff (Jennifer Turner) was afraid for her safety and she believed that the Defendant was behaving in a threatening manner towards her," she alleged.
Jennifer Turner alleged that when she asked her husband whether he wanted a divorce, Kirk Turner replied, "No, there is more than one way to end a marriage."
"The Plaintiff was afraid and thought that if she told close friends what he had said, that he would not harm her," she alleged.
Her husband denied those allegations in his response. There is no record of her having filed for a restraining order against her husband. He accused his wife of causing "severe pain and embarrassment by falsely and publicly accusing him of intending to kill her." He also accused her of falsely accusing him of physically abusing their two children, the court papers said.
On July 31, Kirk Turner filed for divorce. Jennifer Turner had yet to file a response.
The Turners have had other legal troubles in recent months, court records show.
On July 18, Gilbert Turner, Kirk Turner's father, filed a lawsuit against the couple alleging that he had lent them $748,000 over the past 18 years. The suit alleges that Gilbert Turner began asking the couple to repay the money last year. The lawsuit asked a judge to order the Turners to pay all the money back, along with the cost of court.
Last Friday, a Mocksville man filed a lawsuit against the Turners alleging that he had done yard and landscaping work from 2005 to 2006 and was never paid in full.
Turner's death is the second domestic-related homicide investigated by the Davie County Sheriff's Office this year. Authorities said that Charles Ellis Rowell shot his estranged wife, Jana Rowell, on March 13, and then shot himself.
"It just seems when marriages fall apart, people don't seek the right kind of help," Stokes
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