Inset left: William Turnage (Hamilton County Sheriff”s Office). Inset right: Tamara Moore (Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Belgreen Lane in Springfield Township, Ohio (Google Maps).
An Ohio man has been sentenced to over ten years in prison for the death of his girlfriend’s autistic teenage son, who died from starvation while restrained in a 56-degree basement.
William Turnage, 59, received a sentence of between 11 and 15 1/2 years for the death of 16-year-old Jeremiah Moore, according to the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office. He pled guilty on July 31 to involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. In exchange for his plea, a murder charge was dismissed, and he must testify against Tamara Moore, Jeremiah’s mother and Turnage’s then-girlfriend, who faces trial for murder on Sept. 29.
During Monday’s hearing, prosecutors revealed the appalling conditions Jeremiah endured, as reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer. Jeremiah died on Feb. 6, 2024, while bound to a cot in a basement utility room in their Springfield Township home. He had no food in his stomach and wore only a filthy diaper at his time of death, according to prosecutors.
Investigators found marks on his wrists and neck indicative of restraint. He was confined to a utility closet too small for him to stand up in, and the basement temperature was recorded at just 56 degrees, as noted by the prosecutors via the Enquirer.
Jeremiah was nonverbal and relied entirely on adults to take care of him, according to police.
“The level of suffering he went through is unimaginable, and he couldn’t even express his pain,” Springfield Township police Sgt. Rami Khayo reportedly remarked.
Jeremiah’s maternal grandmother took care of him during the first part of his life. But that care took a turn for the worse after his grandma died, according to prosecutors.
Turnage apologized, reportedly saying he wished he had been more “proactive.” He also claimed he “wasn’t aware” of the extent of the boy’s misery.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jody Luebbers was having none of it.
“You’re nothing but a monster, sir,” she said, according to the Enquirer. “You’re going to have to live with this for the rest of your life.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, Moore was arrested at her home on April 12, 2024, some two months after her son’s death. Law enforcement continued to search for Turnage, and they found and detained him four days later.
Then-Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers released a statement following the arrests, vowing to secure justice for the victim.
“Words alone cannot describe the level of depravity displayed by these two defendants,” she said, per local Fox affiliate WXIX. “My heart breaks for this little boy. He was treated worse than an animal, forced to live in a basement closet unwanted, unloved, and denied the most basic of necessities.”
“I promise that we will do whatever is necessary to ensure there is justice for J.J. and that both of these individuals are held accountable for what they have done,” she added.
