Insets, clockwise from top: James Adams, Robin Turner and Dalewayne Turner (WLS/YouTube). Background: The Illinois Walmart where James Adams and Robin Turner allegedly bought supplies to hide Dalewayne's dismembered body (WGN/YouTube).
An Illinois man stabbed his half-brother during a fight "about sport cards" then teamed up with the victim's wife to freeze his head, neck and torso — while dumping the rest of his body parts in a lake using Walmart weights, according to court documents.
James Adams, 26, and Robin Turner, 62, are facing charges of concealment of a homicide and dismembering a human body in connection with the death of Dalewayne Turner, 38, of Plainfield, in late June.
On June 30, a boater in Shelby County's Lake Mattoon found Dalewayne Turner's dismembered arm and reported it to local police, according to a July 6 criminal complaint obtained by local ABC and CW affiliates WLS and WGN, respectively.
Investigators then found multiple black plastic trash bags filled with other remains, weights and concrete in the lake. A tattoo of a skeleton holding a Green Bay Packers' helmet was identified and traced back to Dalewayne Turner, according to police.
Investigators obtained surveillance footage, license-plate reader data and store records that helped connect Dalewayne Turner to Adams and Robin Turner, the complaint says.
Adams was allegedly caught on camera purchasing weights and duct tape at a Mattoon Walmart; Adams and Robin Turner also purchased concrete days earlier, according to the complaint.
Steven Turner, Dalewayne Turner's brother, was interviewed by police and allegedly told investigators that Adams confessed to killing Dalewayne. Steven Turner said Adams told him he "grabbed a knife and stabbed Dalewayne several times," according to the complaint.
"I killed Dale. He is in the freezer," Adams allegedly told Steven Turner, WGN reports.
After being taken into custody, Adams and Robin Turner "both recounted that Dalewayne was stabbed several times, bled out, and succumbed to his injuries," according to the complaint. Adams declined to give a full statement after being advised of his rights but allegedly made a comment to investigators that caught their attention.
"The one thing I will say is that I did it, but I did it out of self-defense," Adams allegedly told police. "I will tell you guys that."
Robin Turner allegedly stated that on the morning of June 21, Adams and Dalewayne Turner "had a verbal argument about sports cards." Robin Turner told investigators that Adams admitted to stabbing Dalewayne Turner multiple times, the complaint says.
Adams and Robin Turner both lived with Dalewayne Turner in the 2400 block of Ruth Fitzgerald Drive in Plainfield and allegedly teamed up to dismember and conceal his body, according to police. A Ram pickup truck registered to the pair was allegedly spotted on license-plate reader cameras with bags of concrete in the bed.
On June 26, the cameras caught the truck carrying two totes in the bed with duct tape around them, according to the complaint. The truck was allegedly spotted leaving Mattoon without the totes in the bed.
Police say those same totes were later found in an overgrown ditch and contained Dalewayne Turner's body parts. His head, neck and torso were allegedly found in a freezer in the basement of the home where the trio lived, covered by a blanket and topped with cinder blocks.
"Literally made me sick to my stomach," Chrystal Mann, cousin of Dalewayne Turner, told WLS about his death and the body part discoveries.
According to Mann, Dalewayne Turner and his wife took custody of Adams when he was 13 after Adams' biological father killed Adams' mother. She says she spoke to Robin Turner on the day she was taken into custody.
"I was on the phone with her 10 minutes before she was arrested," Mann recounted. "And I said, 'Robin, what's going on? Why am I hearing all this crazy stuff? I'm hearing rumors…' She says, 'Well, he's still in treatment. And she said, Let me call you right back.' I never talked to her again."