A jury trial for former banker Anthony Duwayne Turner, who is charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend and colleague, Bank of America-Merrill executive Michelle Avan, in 2021 is set to start Sept. 16.
A trial readiness conference is scheduled for Aug. 29 in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, Van Nuys West Dept. G, the same location as the trial, court records show.
The judge held a pretrial conference Thursday; the session had been scheduled to consider motions on the evidence to be presented at trial.
While the court's website previously noted a Sept. 9 start date for the trial, the updated schedule doesn't represent a delay, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office told ThinkAdvisor by email Monday.
The court had planned to handle motions at the earlier September date but now expects to do that sooner, so the Sept. 9 court appearance was unnecessary, the spokesperson said.
Turner has pleaded not guilty to murder, forcible rape and first-degree residential burglary in Avan's Aug. 3, 2021, slaying, the DA's office told ThinkAdvisor earlier this year.
