Girlfriend of man convicted of slaying parents at Landmark pleads guilty to accessory charge

A 20-year-old woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to being an accessory after the fact in the murder of her boyfriend’s parents at the Landmark Resort last March.

Chelsi Griffin of Roanoke, Va. and Alexander Turner, 23, of Conway each were charged in March 2015 with two counts of murder in the death of Turner’s parents, Carrie Daley Turner, 52, and Steven Gray Turner, 61, of Durham, N.C., but an indictment on the murder charge was not sent to the grand jury for Griffin.

Griffin pleaded guilty Wednesday under North Carolina vs. Alford to the charge of accessory after the fact to murder, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years, according to Senior Assistant Solicitor Lauree Richardson, who prosecuted the case for the 15^th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

An Alford plea means the defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges a jury would likely convict based on the evidence in the case against them, according to a press release from the solicitor’s office.

“There was no doubt that she was involved in the concealing of the bodies and the events that took place afterward,” Richardson said.

Griffin was given an active sentence Wednesday by Circuit Court Judge Larry B. Hyman under the Youthful Offender Act to not exceed five years and to pay court costs.

Under the Youthful Offender Act she may be able to have the conviction expunged from her record after five years.

Richardson said Griffin was taken into custody immediately after her sentence was rendered, and she will remain at J. Reuben Long Detention Center until she is taken to a youth offender facility to begin her sentence.

She will likely serve around 18 months before being released on probation for the remainder of her sentence, but Richardson said she couldn’t say for sure how much time Griffin would serve because that will be left up to the facility.

Credit of time served at J. Reuben Long Detention Center will not count toward her sentence, Richardson said.

“Do I think she should have gotten more time, or do I think she deserved more time? Absolutely,” Richardson said. “But I’m biased, and that’s what his [the judge] job is. He is unbiased, and I trust that he did the right thing in the case.”

Griffin’s attorney Kirk Truslow said he was very pleased with the outcome of the case for her, and that the murder charges against her were dropped.

“She is a wonderful person who has a great future. After work on the case, it was determined that she has absolutely nothing to do with the two tragic deaths in his [Turner’s] case,” Truslow said.

Richardson said no recommendation was made by prosecutors to the judge regarding Griffin’s sentence.

Turner pleaded guilty to two counts of murder Oct. 12, 2015 and received a sentence of 47 years in prison for the killing of his parents at the Landmark in Myrtle Beach on March 6, 2015, according to the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said the Turners, whose bodies were found in a room at the Landmark on Ocean Boulevard, died from gunshot wounds.

Turner told Myrtle Beach Municipal Court Chief Judge Jennifer Wilson at a bond hearing in March 2015 that he originally came to the area for a PTSD rehabilitation clinic through the Wilmington Treatment Center. He said he had graduated from the program recently and moved in with Griffin – who he referred to as his girlfriend, who was a Coastal Carolina University student – at The Cove apartments near CCU.

Prior to living with Griffin, Turner said he was living in a halfway house in North Myrtle Beach, he said.

Days before the couple’s bodies were found their son had been stopped in Surfside Beach and charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to records with J. Reuben Long Detention Center. He was released on $3,592.50 bail. Surfside Beach police charged Griffin with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana, according to Horry County’s Public Index.

A Surfside Beach police officer reported seeing a vehicle sitting next to a gas station at Fifth Avenue North and U.S. 17 with two people inside who “appeared to be lost; they were talking and pointing in a manner that appeared to be a discussion about the direction of travel.”

The officer approached and smelled a “very strong odor of marijuana,” according to the report. Officers ordered Turner and Griffin out of the vehicle and noticed guns. Griffin’s driver’s license also was suspended in Virginia, police said.

In the affidavit filed with the murder charges, Myrtle Beach police said that they learned Alexander Turner and Griffin were at the hotel and tried to extend the stay of the room, but it was denied by Landmark staff. Soon after, the couple was seen leaving the hotel in Turner’s parents’ vehicle, a 2015 Kia Optima.

Police also learned that credit cards belonging to Turner’s parents were used Friday after their bodies were discovered in the room, according to the affidavit.

Grant Anthony Dollens, 21, of Columbia, and Roxanna Lisa Cumpan, 19, of Pottstown, Penn., are also each charged with accessory after the fact. Cumpan also is charged with possession of a controlled substance.

In affidavits filed March 8, 2015 against Cumpan and Dollens, Conway police said they helped hide Turner and Griffin, who were wanted by police.

Richardson said their cases will be resolved in coming months.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 9:18 AM with the headline "Girlfriend of man convicted of slaying parents at Landmark pleads guilty to accessory charge."