Victor Turner granted $50K bond weeks after arrest in 1989 cold case

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Bond was granted Thursday for a father accused in the 1989 death of a 5-year-old Berkeley County boy.

Victor Turner was arrested last month along with his wife, Megan Turner, nearly 35 years after the body of Justin Lee Turner was found inside the family’s camper.

Turner appeared in a Berkeley County courtroom on Thursday morning, accused of murder in connection with the boy’s death. A judge granted him a $50,000 surety bond and cannot travel out of the state, nor can he have contact with Justin Turner’s family.

His wife, Megan Turner was granted a $50,000 surety bond as well on Wednesday afternoon and was ordered to remain in the state and to surrender her passport.

Both were arrested at their home in Cross Hill, South Carolina, and brought back to Berkeley County in mid-January.

Justin Turner went missing on the morning of March 3, 1989. Victor found the boy’s body inside the camper after a two-day search that involved multiple law enforcement agencies.

A videographer from WCBD was following along that morning when the discovery was made. An affidavit shows Victor found Turner’s body “within seconds” of entering the camper during search efforts the morning of March 5, 1989.

Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said last month that the video indicated Victor knew where Justin was located because he went straight to him.

“Rather than react to finding his son and personally checking for any indication of life whatsoever, the co-defendant instead backed out of the camper commenting, “He’s in there, my son is in there. Somebody’s hurt him,” the affidavit read.

The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office used new technology and that video as part of a fresh investigation into Turner’s disappearance and death. It led them to arrest Victor and Megan at their Upstate home.