Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos

Aaron Lamar Turner






Aaron, date, approximate 2008; LaQuanta Chapman; Bryan Byrd
Date Missing 10/30/2008
Missing From
Coatesville, Pennsylvania
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
Black
Date of Birth 12/24/1991 (30)
Age 16 years old
Height and Weight 5'10, 220 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Blue jeans, black Converse sneakers, and possibly a red and white hooded sweatshirt.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Aaron's nickname is Head. He had some facial hair when he disappeared. He has the letter "A" tattooed on one hand and the letter "T" tattooed on the other hand.
Details of Disappearance Aaron was last seen in Coatesville, Pennsylvania at 3:00 p.m. on October 30, 2008. He left his home in the 40 block of Chester Avenue to walk to his community service assignment at the Community, Youth and Women's Alliance in the 400 block of east Lincoln Highway. He has never been heard from again.
At first authorities treated Aaron's as a runaway, but as time passed and no one heard from him, they began to investigate other theories. There were several reports that Turner was harmed or killed after his disappearance, possibly because he owed money to somebody. Authorities searched a landfill for his remains, but nothing was located.
Authorities searched the home of LaQuanta Chapman in November 2008. He lived across the street from Aaron's residence, and his cousin, Bryan Byrd, was visiting from New Jersey. Photos of Chapman and Byrd are posted with this summary.
During the search, police found firearms, marijuana, a trash bag containing the dismembered body of a dog, trash bags containing bloody clothing, and two bloodstained chainsaws that smelled like human remains. Chapman and Byrd were both charged with several weapons and drug violations, and Chapman was also charged with cruelty to animals. When interviewed after his arrest, Chapman said the blood was from the dead dog, and that Aaron had never been at his home.
DNA testing on the items recovered from Chapman's home revealed that the blood was Aaron's. Aaron's DNA was also found on a bloodstained jacket, which had a bullet hole with a bullet fragment still attached. Human hair and tissue were found on the chainsaws, and Aaron's and Chapman's DNA were found on a pair of sneakers and a t-shirt.
Byrd told police Aaron had come to Chapman's home and he'd seen Chapman force Aaron to walk into the basement at gunpoint. Chapman told Byrd to go upstairs and turn the music on as loud as possible. After Byrd had turned up the music, he went downstairs and saw Chapman and another man force Aaron to remove his clothing. Once he was completely naked, they forced him to lie on the floor and then shot him to death.
The motive for the murder was reportedly a dispute over drugs. According to Byrd, Aaron's body remained in the basement for five days after his death. Chapman and Boyd then dismembered it with a chainsaws. Chapman then shot his pit bull to death and used the same chainsaws to dismember the dog's body, in an effort to disguise Aaron's DNA on the tools. They put Aaron's body parts in trash bags and put them out on the curb for collection.
In June 2009, Chapman and Byrd were both charged with homicide, aggravated assault, conspiracy, abuse of a corpse and possession of instruments of a crime. Byrd pleaded guilty to the lasser charges of third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and abuse of a corpse. He agreed to testify against Chapman at his trial. He was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison.
Byrd identified the second shooter in the basement Michael Purnell. Purnell has never been charged in connection with Aaron's death. Chapman was convicted of Aaron's murder in 2012 and sentenced to death, but in 2016 his death sentenced was overturned and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Aaron was in the eleventh grade at Coatesville Area Senior High School when he disappeared; his family stated he was an honor student with perfect attendance. He was also taking auto mechanics classes at the Center for Arts and Technology in Brandywine, Pennsylvania.
He had been in minor trouble with the law prior to his disappearance, and had to perform community service and wear an electronic monitor. He was on the way home from his community service program when he disappeared.
Foul play is suspected in Aaron's due to the circumstances involved. His body has never been recovered.
Investigating Agency
Coatesville Police Department
610-384-2300
Other
Pennsylvania Missing Persons
The Chester County Daily Local News
Chester County District Attorney's Office
WPVI-TV
The Philadelphia Inquirer
KYW Newsradio 1060
MyFox Philadelphia
The Morning Call
The Daily Local News
The Times Herald
Jim Fisher True Crime
The Delco Times

Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos