NBC’s “Dateline” brings us one gripping true crime story after another and features plenty of in-depth investigative journalism, truly bringing out storytelling at its best. Through interviews and narrations of all those involved in the case, the real-life mysteries that shocked the country were revealed. His series “Dead of Night,” which chronicled the brutal murder of La Jolla McCoy, was no exception. In mid-2015, no one knew she was dead until about a week after the incident, but investigators still managed to gather enough evidence to crack the case quickly. Curious about all the details? Here’s everything we know.
LaJoya McCoy is a native of Pasadena, Calif., living the good life at 31. A single mother of two, she works full-time as Comptroller for the Los Angeles County Health Department and is the owner of Joya Boutique in Monterey Park. Yes, she is busy most of the time, but she always manages to make time for her kids, family and friends without missing a deadline. As June 15, 2015 approached, no one had heard from her for several days and they were starting to worry. When people tried to contact LaJoya at work, her colleagues explained that she hadn’t shown up and had missed some important meetings. In fact, the last time anyone heard from her was on the evening of June 9. As a result, local authorities were notified.
The same day, the Monrovia Police Department (MPD) responded to a welfare audit of La Jolla in the 800 block of West Olive Avenue. But when they stumbled upon their home and saw signs of third-party negligence, they immediately called to obtain a search warrant for the property and asked the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau to assist with what they initially believed to be a missing persons case. A grid search the next day, June 16, found her car in the 200 block of West Cypress Avenue, about a mile from her apartment, where they found her battered body. body, covered with a blanket and a child car seat. Her autopsy report confirmed that she was strangled with a rope or rope and stabbed multiple times on June 10, 2015.
On Aug. 27, 2015, more than a month after La Jolla’s death, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s homicide detectives arrested Jose Roberto Turner, 45, her ex-boyfriend and father of two related to this matter. By this time their child was already with him. The couple had been together for about ten years and split two years before the murders, which Jose wasn’t happy about. In fact, after La Jolla’s body was discovered, her friends and family came forward and explained that she had been concerned about her health lately due to some strange things that had happened to her. They said she had a punctured tire and when she got home she felt someone was in it more than once, especially when some documents were missing.
At first, they all thought La Jolla had misplaced things by spreading herself too thin by taking all the blame. But in hindsight, that wasn’t the case. She knew she was in trouble, but she never imagined how big it would be. Investigators then began looking into her personal life and belongings, where they found the looming presence of her ex-boyfriend. According to witnesses, Jose exhibited stalking behavior and jealousy when La Jolla was with other men, which flared up again when she went to a scheduled appointment. In his diary, he even expressed his anger at her and talked about how he would kill her before she was murdered. Jose’s downfall, however, is his demeanor.
As LaJoya’s family and investigators searched for her and tried to crack the case, Jose expressed a sense of guilt by refusing to cooperate or help in any way. So when forensic evidence gathered at the crime scene and under La Jolla’s fingernails revealed a DNA profile that undoubtedly matched his and was directly linked to her death, he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Then there was a bloody note in her car that basically implied he was stalking/harassing her, and another ex came forward and publicly accused him of being a monster. Even items missing from his La Jolla home have been found on his property. Jose was held without bail until his case went to trial, and then on June 19, 2017, after a short trial, he was found guilty of the charges against him.
