A hunter found the torso of an unknown woman back in January, before a DNA sample from her twin sister confirmed her identity and the suspect allegedly confessed to and detailed the gruesome crime.
An arrest has been made months after the torso of a woman was discovered in a Louisiana river by a hunter back in January.
Anthony Pierce Holland, Jr. 29, of West Monroe was arrested was charged with Second Degree Murder in the death of 19-year-old Sheryl Turner earlier this week, officials from the Catahoula Parish Sheriff’s Department announced on Wednesday.
The investigation into Turner’s death began back on January 24, weeks after she had been reported missing by her family. At the time, a hunter in the Ouachita River found the torso of an unknown woman floating in the water; per a GoFundMe set by up Turner’s sister, “her head and other body parts were removed.”
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The Sheriff’s Department said they then began searching for missing persons who “fit the description of the body detectives located” and came across Turner, whose family reported her missing on January 3. Per authorities, the victim was last seen by her family on December 31, 2023 and texted her twin sister saying she “had met someone in Ouachita Parish and was going to move there.” She also sent a friend a message saying she had made it to West Monroe, Louisiana and she would talk to him soon, but he received no further contact after January 2.
DNA collected from Turner’s sister and mother were then used to confirm her identity.
The West Monroe Police Department claimed forensic data showed Turner had “engaged in a romantic relationship over text message” with someone from West Monroe. Per the arrest affidavit, via KATC, Turner and Holland were communicating over the TextNow app and arranged for him to pick her up at her mother’s home on January 1.
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Her phone allegedly stopped transmitting the following night, just before midnight, as it used a WiFi network near the suspect’s apartment, said the affidavit. Holland’s car, meanwhile, was seen on traffic cameras near where the remains were later discovered. The docs also say a search warrant was executed at his home on Tuesday, where authorities allegedly found blood on a mattress and on the floor — before Holland was taken into custody.
During interviews with the suspect, he allegedly admitted to murdering Turner inside the apartment, with the affidavit saying he said he “killed her during a sex act,” before dismembering her, putting her remains in bags and tossing them into a tributary of the Ouachita River. He also allegedly told authorities he threw away the knives used for the dismemberment, as well as all Turner’s possessions.
In a GoFundMe page set up by Sheryl’s twin sister, she was remembered as being “full of life and a sweetheart” who “didn’t bother nobody.” She added that a part of her “was taken when this monster did that to her.” In her obituary, she was also called “a shining light to all who knew her, with a kind and loving personality that radiated through her beautiful smile and touched the hearts of those around her.”
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