Mark Turner Update August 2010: Mark Turner Suicide Attempt

As many of you know, I have written volumes about Mark Turner, his conviction for Racketeering, Money Laundering and Grand Theft in Pensacola and the long wait for a decision from the Florida Court of Appeals. I have an update and it breaks my heart for him, his family and those friends who love him, to bring this news of attempted suicide and prison. (See two new videos below)

Apparently Mark received a telephone call from his Appeals attorney (appointed by the court) sometime before Monday, August 23rd. The attorney broke the news that his Appeal was denied. She told him he would receive a court date three weeks to three months ahead, and on that date he should be ready to surrender himself to the court and begin a 12.5 year prison sentence.

Mark did not tell his wife Nancy or anyone in his family about the phone call. Then sometime before Wednesday, August 25th, his bail bondsman called him with the news that the Judge had revoked his bond and a warrant was out for his arrest.

On Wednesday Mark's wife Nancy, still knowing nothing about the Appeal denial,  received a voicemail from Mark. He instructed her to go to a certain place where she would find a note from him. The note was a suicide note. The note instructed her to call the police and give them a second note left by Mark, requesting that the police leave his wife and children alone - and it said they would find his body soon.

Police responded 30 minutes later. They read the notes and gave them back to Nancy. Police contacted Escambia County and Santa Rosa Country sheriff's departments. They told Mrs. Turner to go back to her home.

As she pulled into her driveway, U.S. Marshalls approached her home and demanded to know where to find Mark. She told them of her meeting with Police and showed them the two notes Mark left for her. The U.S. Marshalls took the notes and told her she would not get them back later.

The Marshall told Nancy and her oldest son that the warrant for Mark's arrest was for a "multi-million dollar white collar crime with a $300,000 bond. This from Nancy:

I told him he was mistaken, that the civil case was a 36 million dollar suit but that Mark had been out for 2 1/2 years on an appeal bond for an $84,000 charge.  I referred him to the Restitution Hearing's Last Document on Mark's website where a copy of the adding tape was provided, proving that the charges added up to $84,000.  He said he only knew what the warrant said.

By Thursday morning at 10 a.m. police called Mrs. Turner saying they had found Mark in the woods in his car. He had taken 80 Valiums and 40 Lortabs. In the event that he vomited-up the drugs, he hooked up a vacuum cleaner hose to the auto tail pipe and began to breathe in carbon monoxide from 2: a.m. to when the police found him. He had fallen asleep after praying. The police hit their siren and he awakened, tried to drive away but was losing consciousness, and hit a pine tree that was directly in front of the car. When Mrs. Turner got the call, Mark was on his way to the E.R. for treatment. By the time she got to the E.R. his stomach had been pumped and he was on oxygen.

Nancy had to explain to the children that Dad lost his Appeal, she told them about the suicide attempt and took them to the hospital with her. This is a portion of what Mark told Nancy:

I'm sorry I failed you and my family. I'm sorry my children could not just grieve once over my death but how have to grieve everyday wondering when will daddy come home, when will he win the Appeal, when will he get a pardon, is he okay, is he being raped in jail?

I'm not scared to go to prison and I don't care if I get killed in prison. I made my peace with my Lord and I am ready to go home. I am not suicidal or crazy. I will take the first opportunity to finish what I started so that you and my boys can leave this infested place and never look back.

Today, five days after finding Mark, Nancy believes he lived after extraordinary measures to end his life, because God still has work for him to do, including continuing to fight against Special Prosecutor Russ Edgar and...coming back home to his family.

You know by now that Mark's case was incredibly confusing. I'm asking for prayer for Nancy Turner and the three children - prayer for Nancy's ability to do what she needs to do for Mark to prepare for a "Post Conviction Appeal." Please pray for Mark, lying in a hospital, awaiting a sentencing date - a specific prayer that someone will address his well-documented refutation of the way his trial, his evidence, the Restitution Hearing and the Appeal were handled.

His wife Nancy Turner, needs an attorney out of the District to handle the Post Conviction Appeal, and an advocacy group willing to help with pro bono work. If you can help, or know someone who might be willing to help, Nancy and I can guide you to volumes of court documentations. Mark kept pristine records and it is all available online.

There were so many strange things that happened during the trial. Mark outlined them in a complaint he made to the Florida Bar. I have combined some information from that complaint and from other court documents to give you some of the more pertinent facts:

1. There is a Turner check for $205,000 that would have impacted the charges of Racketeering and Grand Theft had it been credited to Mark. The Special Prosecutor knew about the check but it was ignored in trial. The Comptroller for Pete Moore Chevrolet stated in Trial that she never saw the check from Mark but Pete Moore's attorney Michael Guttman stated in Trial that he personally handed it to Pete Moore

2. The trial's Verdict Sheet did not specify what Turner was guilty of...it was changed to the point that the instructions provided to the jury were confusing and suggested that if Mark was guilty of one charge then he was guilty of all three.

3. The Restitution Hearing was held after the trial, and the Judge himself stated on court transcripts that the charges did not add up to what Prosecutor Russ Edgar claimed and that the Sentence would have to be addressed in the Appeal. This information was provided after the trial, therefore excluding it for consideration of the appeals process.

4. The Restitution Hearing showed Mark owed between $83,000 and $84,000 - not in excess of $100,000 which is necessary for Grand Theft and Racketeering. (Mark contends that he has all the evidence needed showing that he doesn't owe a dime - nevertheless, under the circumstances, he was willing to settle at the figure the Judge, the Special Prosecutor and his own attorney arrived at, at the Restitution Hearing).

Click here for Mark Turner's rebuttal to the Florida Bar. You'll also find links to all the posts on Mark's case at that link.

I will have updates soon, including Mark's Appeals Attorney rebuttal letter to the Appeals Court.

Mark made these two videos sometime days before the suicide attempt on August 25th. As you listen, you'll see that it appears he planned additional videos, but something made him believe he could not go on. Keep in mind that when these videos were made Mrs. Turner did not know about the Appeal denial or the plans for suicide. Find links to all of Mark's court documents and the background of his case below the videos.


Mark Turner Part One (video) Mark Turner Part Two (video)

Read every court document here.

Read Mark Turner's blog here.




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