Microscopic Fibers Link Couple to 5-Year-Old Son’s Strangulation 34 Years Ago, Sheriff Says

Investigators long thought a 5-year-old South Carolina boy found strangled in 1989 was killed by his father and stepmother. But it took 34 years of scientific advancement to link microscopic fibers found on the boy’s shirt to a ligature that investigators located at the couple’s home, a sheriff said. Victor Lee Turner, 69, and Megan R. Turner, 63, have been charged with murder in the death of 5-year-old Justin Turner, Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said at a news conference Wednesday. The boy’s body was found inside a cabinet in a camper behind the Turner home in March 1989. Investigators immediately thought the killing scene had been staged and caught the couple in lies, including that he had gotten on the school bus the morning he disappeared, Mr. Lewis said. Megan Turner was charged with murder shortly after the boy’s death, but prosecutors dropped the charge, with the condition that they could refile it if more evidence emerged....