Police: Coatesville Teen Shot, Dismembered

COATESVILLE, Pa. - June 23, 2009 (WPVI) -- The Chester County District Attorney's Office announced the arrests of 29-year-old Laquanta Chapman and 19-year-old Bryan Byrd following a 7-month investigation.

Both defendants are charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, possession of instruments of a crime, abuse of corpse, criminal conspiracy, and related offenses concerning the disappearance and murder of 16-year-old Aaron Turner of Coatesville, Pennsylvania.

Turner's mother reported him missing on Thursday, October 30, 2008. She said he disappeared while he was walking to the CYWA in Coatesville.

On November 15, 2008 police executed search warrants at Chapman's home. Byrd, Chapman's nephew, was visiting.

During the search police found numerous firearms and drugs in the house.

Police also uncovered trash bags containing bloody clothing. One trash bag had the severed remains of a dog inside. In addition investigators discovered 2 chainsaws, which they believed had the smell of a decomposing human body.

Chapman and Byrd were both charged on November 16, 2008 with multiple counts of firearm and drug violations. Chapman was also charged with animal cruelty charges. They are awaiting trial on those charges.
Chapman was interviewed and stated that the blood on the clothing came from a dog he had chopped up with the chainsaws. He also claimed that Turner had never been in his house.

Extensive DNA tests were run on the items found in Chapman's house and Turner's DNA was found in several locations in the basement. DNA was also found on a bloody jacket that had a bullet hole in it as well as a copper bullet fragment still attached. Turner's DNA was also on both chainsaws in the form of blood and human tissue. Furthermore, 2 items of clothing - sneakers and a tee shirt - had Turner's DNA on the outside and a mixture of Chapman and Turner's DNA on the inside, which leads investigators to believe that Chapman was wearing that clothing while using the chainsaws on Turner's body.

In a statement to police, Byrd stated that Chapman walked Turner down to the basement at gunpoint. Chapman asked Byrd to go upstairs and turn up the music as loud as possible. Byrd turned up the music and when he went back downstairs he watched Chapman and an unknown third party shoot and kill Aaron Turner. Chapman then, with Byrd's help, used 2 chainsaws to dismember Turner's body. They then placed Turner in garbage bags and put his remains out in the trash to be collected.

For several months police searched landfills where garbage was brought, in search for Aaron Turner. His body was never recovered.

The Chief Medical Examiner of Delaware has examined the evidence and concluded that Aaron Turner is dead and the manner of his death is homicide.