Terry Duane Turner (via Caldwell County Sheriff).
A Texas grand jury has indicted a man on first-degree murder charges after he allegedly told police he shot and killed a man who was sitting in a car outside his home.
Terry Turner, 65, was indicted Wednesday for the death of Adil Dghoughi, according to Austin NBC affiliate KXAN. The indictment alleges that Turner “intentionally and knowingly caused the death of an individual, namely, Adil Dghoughi, by shooting [him] with a firearm,” KXAN reported.
Turner was arrested and charged with murder after surrendering to authorities 10 days after allegedly shooting and killing Dghoughi on Oct. 11. Turner has allegedly claimed that he shot Dghoughi in self-defense, according to a report by the Austin American-Statesman.
According to KXAN, the probable cause affidavit leading to Turner’s arrest said that Turner had woken up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Turner realized a car he didn’t recognize was parked in his driveway next to his truck and the headlights were off, KXAN reported.
Turner told police that he ran to get his gun from his room and when he came out to confront the car, the headlights were on and the car “began to rapidly accelerate in reverse,” according to KXAN. The affidavit for Turner’s arrests said that Turner then chased the car, hit the driver’s side window with his gun, and then shot through the window, KXAN reported.
Turner then ran back inside to call 911 and said to police that he “just killed a guy” who “tried to pull a gun at me, I shot,” according to the KXAN report.
Police did not find a gun inside the car Dghoughi was driving, KXAN reported.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Dghoughi was the oldest of four children and immigrated to the U.S. from Morocco in 2012. He earned a master’s degree from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island and moved to Austin in 2020.
“He was just looking for a better life, and he was getting interviews set up. But now his dream is gone just like that, because someone chose to” take his life, Dghoughi’s mother Fatiha Haouass told the American-Statesman.
After his death, Dghoughi’s body was taken to Morocco, and Haouass, his mother, travelled to Texas to follow the investigation and pursue justice alongside Othmane Dghoughi, the victim’s brother, KXAN reported.
“Today the District Attorney stood up against those who think this murder was justified and showed me and the world the honorable person he is,” Haouass said in a statement after Turner’s indictment, KXAN reported. “I will travel home to Morocco with new trust and hope in my heart that the American system will hold Terry Turner accountable.”
“There are no words to describe how hard it has been,” Dghoughi’s brother Othmane said in a statement reported by KXAN. “In my darkest moments, I cried because how could I face my brother’s grave if I allowed his life to be disrespected and diminished by law enforcement who believed Turner’s lies? Now, I will take my mom home to Morocco and I can visit my brother’s grave to tell him that we are one step closer to getting justice.”
Although Turner was arrested in October, BuzzFeed News reports that much of the investigation into Dghoughi’s death focused more on the victim and less on the man who admitted to shooting him.
BuzzFeed previously said that Dghoughi was driving an Audi belonging to his girlfriend, Sarah Todd. The two had spent the night before Dghoughi’s death at the home of Todd’s cousin, but Dghoughi had left shortly after midnight to return to Sarah’s apartment.
“Sometimes he liked to drive around and listen to music,” Todd told BuzzFeed News. “I don’t know if that’s possible or what he was doing. I don’t know if anyone lives in that neighborhood that he was in — I don’t think he knew anyone who lived there, or maybe he got to the neighborhood and got lost.”
According to KXAN, Turner’s first court appearance should be in 30 to 45 days.
[Image via Caldwell County Sheriff.]