Kirk Turner fatally slashed Jennifer Turner after throwing a harpoon

Police received a frantic call for help at a home in the small town of Mocksville, North Carolina, on September 12, 2007, at 9:45 p.m. Jennifer and Kirk Turner, a wealthy couple, had been injured during a 'an attack. according to their friend Greg Smithson, who called 911.

“When law enforcement arrived, they found three people at the scene,” said Derek Ellington, a digital forensics investigator. Kill or be killedairs Saturdays at 9/8 p.m. on Oxygen. “Greg Smithson was performing CPR on an unconscious Jennifer Turner.”

Emergency personnel took over and attempted to resuscitate Jennifer, 54, who had suffered a knife wound to her throat. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Paramedics attended to Kirk, then 50, who had made a tourniquet around his leg and was clinging to life. The officers asked Kirk what happened. “She stabbed me with a spear,” he is heard saying in a police recording. He kept saying 'she stabbed me,'” Ellington said. Despite his serious injuries, Kirk escaped.

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Investigators learned that Kirk had separated following his extramarital affair. He lived in an apartment close to the family home.

Smithson, an auto mechanic, told police that he and Kirk rehabbed old cars together. They had come to Jennifer's house with her permission to collect tools, according to Kirk's defense attorney, Brad Bannon.

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Kirk and Jennifer Turner's relationship history

Investigators learned that Jennifer was already divorced when she met Kirk. They eloped and eventually had two children.

The family moved to North Carolina, where Kirk opened a dental practice. They bought a farm so Jennifer would have a place where she could raise horses, according to her friend Anne Gould.

Cracks in the couple's relationship began to appear. Jennifer suspected Kirk of being unfaithful, according to Jennifer's friend Nancy Monda.

Jennifer hired a private investigator who confirmed her suspicions. Kirk was having an affair with a woman who was their personal banker.

Kirk moved in June 2006, 15 months before Jennifer's fatal shooting. According to a judge's order, he paid $20,000 a month for the upkeep of the farm.

The breakup was rancorous. Jennifer filed a civil complaint against Kirk's mistress in an alienation of affection lawsuit.

“North Carolina is one of six states with alienation of affections laws,” Ellington said. “If someone interferes with your marriage, there could be a financial penalty.”

Interviews with witnesses indicated that Kirk and Jennifer's relationship showed signs of violence.

Forensic Evidence Leads to Kirk Turner's Arrest

A month after the incident, the forensic report from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, which had joined the case, entered.

“They were able to determine that the arterial jet was at most 23 inches high,” said legal analyst Lis Wiehl. Kill or be killed.

Bloodstains showed that Jennifer was already on the ground when she was killed. Investigators believed that was enough to justify murder.

On December 13, 2007, Kirk was charged with first degree murder. He spent a month in jail before posting $1 million bail.

The defense team built its case. Emails between the Turners proved to be key evidence. In the comms, Jennifer criticized Kirk's relationship with his girlfriend, writing, “It's all about the pretty parts of you,” Ellington said.

“Pretty parts” was Jennifer's term for her genitals, according to Kill or be killed. “In Kirk's statements, she had said, while she was attacking him, that she was going to get her pretty parts back,” Bannon said. His wounds were inches from his groin.

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Jennifer's first marriage became part of the affair, according to Kill or be killed. An affidavit from Jennifer's first husband stating that his obsession with horses ended their marriage also became key.

Before the deadly altercation, Kirk told Jennifer he was going to use the document to show that the same reason ended their marriage, not his affair, according to Bannon.

The circumstantial evidence “paints a pretty clear picture of who got the better of the anger,” Bannon said. “It wasn't Kirk.” It was Jennifer.

Forensic evidence on the pocket knife and spear involved in the case proved inconclusive, so investigators focused elsewhere to build the case against Kirk.

Jennifer's therapist said Jennifer talked about her fear of Kirk, according to Wiehl. Jennifer had filled out a protection order barring Kirk from her property.

The trial begins

In July 2009, the trial began. The prosecution pointed to the $20,000 alimony and prosecution of Kirk's girlfriend as motives for the murder.

Prosecutors argued that Kirk was not attacked. They claimed that “because of his medical history, he knew exactly where to work himself,” Hewlett said. They pointed to evidence that the blood spatter was near the ground.

The defense argued that the conversation between Kirk and Jennifer escalated and she stabbed him with the 7-foot spear. “When the jurors first saw it, their eyes widened,” Bannon said.

Both sides used blood evidence at the scene, on weapons and on clothing, in different ways to make their case.

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The Turners' daughter testified for the prosecution, while their son spoke in court about his father's good character.

The siblings remain divided. “This entire family was torn apart by what happened,” Wiehl said.

Smithson also testified. When he took the stand, prosecutors suggested “at the last minute that he was in fact somehow involved in this murder,” Bannon said.

Kirk testified on his own behalf and said he was forced to end Jennifer's life to save his own.

On August 20, 2009, the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty by reason of self-defense, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.

For more on the case, featured in the episode “Spear and Loathing,” watch Kill or be killedairs Saturdays at 9/8 p.m. on Oxygen.