Vivian King: The Murder of Shilie Turner

Vivian King is the Philadelphia mother who murdered her 17-year-old daughter, Shilie Turner, in January 1993, then spent a month publicly pleading for help finding her “missing” child before detectives unraveled the lie. King shot Turner multiple times in Fairmount Park after an argument over a broken curfew, was convicted of third-degree murder in November 1993, and served a 10-to-20-year prison sentence. She now lives in Philadelphia as a free woman.¹

Who Shilie Turner Was

Shilie Turner was a senior at William Penn High School in Philadelphia and the anchor leg on a girls’ track team that had claimed several national championship relay titles. During the 1993 indoor season, her relay splits drew recruiters from across the country.² She was headed to Clemson University on a full athletic scholarship, contingent on her SAT scores that spring, with junior colleges recruiting her as a fallback.³ Among her prized possessions were track shoes autographed by Florence Griffith Joyner.

Turner lived with her mother, her stepfather Clarence Jones, and a younger sister in a rowhouse in the Overbrook section of the city. Classmates and teachers described a household filled with loud arguments. Students told reporters King had physically abused her daughter, and one teacher said she had witnessed it since Turner was a child. Turner had confided in her track coach, Tim Hickey, that she “dreaded going home.” Jones told the Philadelphia Daily News that King believed in strict discipline but had never abused the children.⁴

The Night of the Killing

Turner was last seen alive in the early morning hours of January 18, 1993, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. She had visited her boyfriend, Shaun Williams, the night before. Williams told investigators he last saw her boarding a city bus around 1:30 a.m., and a bus driver confirmed she rode his route and got off six blocks from her home.⁵

By King’s own later confession, Turner arrived home roughly 90 minutes past her 1 a.m. curfew. King had been drinking heavily. Evidence presented at trial indicated she had consumed 88 ounces of beer and corn liquor that night. The two argued and the argument turned physical. King retrieved a handgun, forced Turner into a car, drove her to a secluded area of Fairmount Park, struck her on the side of the head with the weapon, and shot her multiple times as she lay on the ground. She covered the body with a tarp and left.⁵

Turner’s body was found on February 20, 1993, by a man walking his dog in a wooded section of Fairmount Park. She had been beaten and shot in the face, chest, and hand. The body had been exposed to winter temperatures long enough that it required defrosting for identification. Her running shoes, socks, and leather jacket were missing, though six dollars remained in her pockets.⁶

The Month-Long Fake Search

In the weeks between the killing and the discovery of Turner’s body, King reported her daughter missing and told police the teenager had said she was staying at a friend’s house across the street. Then she went public. King appeared on radio and television making emotional appeals, organized rallies with neighborhood residents and Turner’s teammates, and helped raise a $6,000 community reward for information about her daughter’s whereabouts.⁷ Turner missed a track meet the day she vanished, and no one in the family circle appeared to be looking harder than her mother.

How Police Caught On

Suspicion turned toward King at Turner’s funeral. Rather than mourning, King appeared to be in good spirits, greeting guests and looking around the room. Family friend Mister Mann Frisby recalled that King “was not acting like the mother of a 17-year-old girl who was murdered,” and that her demeanor was all anyone at the service could talk about.⁵

The break came on a local radio talk show hosted by Mary Mason. In an unrecorded portion of the interview, King described the crime scene in startling detail, including the positioning of her daughter’s hand and how Turner’s “teeth were glistening in the moonlight.” Mason recognized these as specifics King should not have known and alerted police. Lead detective James J. Dougherty later said: “At that time, I realized Vivian could be the person that killed Shilie.”⁸

King agreed to a polygraph, according to Dougherty, to prove her innocence. She failed it and then confessed, walking investigators through the killing in detail. After finishing, she told them, “You must think I’m a monster — only a monster could have done this,” and laughed. Dougherty described the laugh as “full of evil.”⁸ King was arrested on March 7, 1993, and charged with murder.⁹

Trial, Verdict, and Sentence

One day after her arrest, King recanted the confession, claiming investigators had coerced it during a 10-hour interrogation. She stuck to that story through trial.⁶ Prosecutors had no murder weapon and little physical evidence tying King to the scene; the case turned on her signed, detailed confession.⁵

The two-week trial was heard by Common Pleas Judge David N. Savitt. On November 4, 1993, after about four hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted King of first-degree murder and convicted her of third-degree murder, along with possession of an instrument of crime for the handgun. Former Assistant District Attorney Judith Frankel-Rubino later explained that jurors believed King’s heavy drinking that night meant she lacked the specific intent needed for first-degree murder.¹⁰

At her June 1994 sentencing, King again denied the crime. “I did not kill my daughter,” she told the court. “I know the jury found me guilty of this crime, so I’m asking you to be lenient to me.” Judge Savitt sentenced her to 10 to 20 years in prison on the murder count, calling it a “strong sentence” because King had refused to admit the crime and shown little remorse. The gun-possession count added another two and a half to five years.⁷

Where Vivian King Is Now

King served her sentence. According to reporting tied to the 2020 Oxygen episode “Buried in the Woods: Guilt or Grief,” she is out of prison and living in Philadelphia.¹

1
Audacy (KYW Newsradio). Shilie Turner’s 1993 Murder Subject of TV Special
2
Sun-Sentinel. Running Out of Time
3
The New York Times. So Full of Promise, and Then She Never Came Home
4
Baltimore Sun. Track Star’s Bad Home Wasn’t Seen; Mother Charged in Daughter’s Death
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Oxygen. Shilie Turner Murder: Vivian King Found Guilty in Teen Track Star Case
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The New York Times. Jury Considers Mother Charged in Runner’s Death
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Deseret News. Woman Who Killed Daughter Gets Stiff Sentence
8
Oxygen. Philly Homicide: Why Did Vivian King Kill Daughter Shilie Turner
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Baltimore Sun. Track Star’s Bad Home Wasn’t Seen; Mother Charged in Daughter’s Death
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The New York Times. Jurors Convict Mother in Death of a Track Star