A Florida woman, Bree Kristen Kuhn, 34, who killed her husband while he was on the phone with a 911 operator, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Kuhn was found guilty and convicted of first-degree premeditated murder for the shooting death of her husband, 34-year-old Collin James Turner.
On September 8, 2021, three 911 calls rang out from the couple’s home in the Gulf Breeze residential area of Santa Rosa County. Officers responded to the 6100 Block of Jenks Drive a third time after reports from a 911 dispatch hearing four gunshots while talking to Turner before the phone went silent.
Earlier in the afternoon, around 12:30 pm, Kuhn had called 911 to report an altercation between her and the victim. The couple had been in a heated argument because Turner wanted to take the children out of state against the defendant’s wish. Officers arrived at the home but left since there was no evidence of an altercation.
Later in the evening, Turner called 911 to report another domestic spat between the duo. Again, officers responded to the home a second time and reportedly left due to a lack of evidence of an altercation. About an hour later, the victim called 911 again and reported Kuhn had tried to break his arm and had locked him in the garage when he tried to gain entry into the house.
While still on the phone with the 911 operator, a gunshot rang out, causing Turner to yell out in pain, saying his wife just shot him. Soon, three more shots followed, with Turner unresponsive while the phone went silent.
Upon their arrival, authorities found Turner in the garage with four gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. After news of the killing broke out, Santa Rosa Police Department faced a public outcry as to why its officers were unable to avoid the killing after responding to the home twice before the fatal incident.
“If there’s no evidence to support an arrest—any kind of violence or anything—we can’t make the arrest. And in both of these cases they were arguing over kids,” said Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson, reported Law and Crime.
During the trial, Kuhn claimed she fatally shot her husband in self-defense, with her lawyers arguing for a battered spouse syndrome defense. However, the medical examiner told the jury Turner died from four gunshot entry wounds to the back, which all exited from his chest.
Furthermore, the defense zeroed in on Turner’s alleged abusive behavior due to a brain injury and disability that stemmed from his medical discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps.
“He had issues with his brain, and you're going to hear Bree say, 'You're unstable. You're a danger to the kids,'" Etheridge said. "We're not talking about a normal person here," said Kuhn’s lawyer, Randy Etheridge, reported Pensacola News Journal.
The jury disagreed!
The couple’s children were at home during the fatal incident.
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