The death of a 19-year-old woman from New Iberia, Louisiana, has been linked to a 29-year-old guy she met online.
Sheryl M. Turner was last seen by her family on December 31, 2023, before driving to Anthony Pierce Holland Jr.’s West Monroe residence, according to a Catahoula Parish Sheriff’s Department press release issued on Wednesday, April 24.
The two “engaged in a romantic relationship over text message,” and Turner informed her family that she planned to stay with him before leaving home, according to a separate news release from the West Monroe Police Department, which worked with Catahoula authorities on the investigation.
According to KLFY-TV, Turner’s phone was linked to wifi near Holland Jr.’s phone before it stopped broadcasting on the night of January 2. Turner’s twin sister Sherry noted in a GoFundMe page that she was reported missing on Jan. 3 and that “as the days went by, we knew something was wrong.“
Nearly three weeks later, on January 24, the Catahoula Parish Sheriff’s Office got a call reporting a body floating in the Ouachita River.
“When deputies recovered the body, they discovered it was simply a torso. There were no heads or extremities attached to the body. The remains were sent for an autopsy, and the results led to the case being classified as a homicide,” the West Monroe Police Department said in a statement.
On February 23, Turner’s remains were identified using a DNA sample from her twin sister Sherry.
Holland Jr. was identified as a suspect in the case based on “forensic data and surveillance,” and the West Monroe Police Department executed a search warrant at his residence on April 23.
“During the search warrants at Holland’s residence, forensic evidence of a violent crime was discovered. During subsequent interviews, Holland acknowledged killing Turner inside his home. Holland further alleged that he mutilated Turner’s body inside his home. Holland stated that he placed Turner’s dismembered parts in a body of water that fed into the Ouachita River,” according to the department’s press release.
Holland Jr. was arrested without incident and put into the Ouachita Correctional Center on one count of Second-Degree Murder, according to the police.
Turner’s obituary described her as “a shining light to all who knew her, with a kind and loving personality that radiated through her beautiful smile and touched the hearts of those around her.”