A man has been charged with killing his ex-wife and her boyfriend in a “crime of rage” while the woman’s four children hid inside the home.
David Phillip Turner, 33, of Miami, Florida, was arrested on Saturday on a beach in Fort Lauderdale and charged with two counts of first-degree murder over the August killings of Crimea Malita Baker, 33, and Sean Antoine Lange, 34.
The couple were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds inside the bedroom of their home in New Market, Maryland, on August 25.
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said in a press conference on Monday that Turner is believed to have crept inside the home through the back door at around 1am and found the couple in their bed.
The suspect then allegedly fired “more than 42 rounds” at the victims at close range.
Frederick County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the home at around 7am and found the two victims.
The four children – all aged 13 and under – were found unharmed inside the home, the sheriff’s office said.
Turner is Baker’s ex-husband and the father of three of the children, with Lange being the father of the fourth, authorities said.
Police said they had no reason to believe there was any contact between the suspect and his ex-wife before the attack.
Jenkins described the incident as “a heinous violent crime – a targeted double murder – and a crime of rage and anger” that shook the local community.
“Their (The children’s) lives will never be the same,” he added.
An arrest warrant was filed a month ago, before Turner was arrested on a south Florida beach on Saturday in a joint operation between Fort Lauderdale Police, the FBI, and the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.
He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion, and two counts of use of a firearm in a crime of violence or felony.
Turner is being held at the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Jail in Florida while awaiting extradition to Maryland.
In a press release, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said: “This investigation has been a priority of this office since the morning of the shootings.
“In anxiously waiting for closure and the arrest of the person responsible, the public has been extremely patient and can now be completely confident that this was a targeted domestic-related murder. I extend my thanks to the Lake Linganore Community for their assistance in the investigation and their patience while we worked to apprehend the murderer.”
