VAN NUYS (CNS) — The ex-boyfriend of a prominent banking executive who was found dead inside her Reseda home has been charged with murder on Monday, Aug. 9.
Anthony Duwayne Turner, 52, of Westchester, is accused of fatally beating Michelle Annette Avan, who was found dead around 7 a.m. on Aug. 5 inside her home in the 19300 block of Covello Street, near Tampa Avenue and Saticoy Street.
In addition to murder, Turner was also charged with residential burglary. Prosecutors contend Turner entered Avan’s home on Aug. 3, killed her, then left on Aug. 4. Her body was found the next day by her son.
Authorities have not released a possible motive for the crime.
Turner appeared in court in Van Nuys Monday afternoon and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is due back in court Aug. 16.
Avan, 48, was senior vice president with Bank of America, working to recruit women and under-represented employees globally. She was profiled by Essence magazine in 2017.
Police had not previously announced how Avan died, other than saying she appeared to have suffered “trauma to her face.”
Law enforcement sources told NBC4 last week that Turner had a personal relationship with Avan and she had recently considered obtaining a restraining order against him.
Avan was a mother of two and grandmother of one.
Danny Bakewell Sr., executive publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel, called her death “just devastating.”
“Michelle was a dear friend and dedicated warrior for our community and a dear friend to me and my entire family,” Bakewell said in a Sentinel report on her death.