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).
A troubling case of “depravity” in western Ohio has seen a new development – as a man charged with killing a teenage boy accepted a plea deal.
William Turnage, 59, pleaded guilty on Thursday to involuntary manslaughter and endangering children, the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office told Law&Crime. As part of the plea deal, charges of murder and failure to report a crime were dropped.
Turnage was charged alongside 53-year-old Tamara Moore, his girlfriend at the time, after the child’s body was found in February 2024. Moore was the victim’s mother – reportedly via adoption – and she still stands charged with murder and endangering children.
An unidentified 16-year-old boy was found dead on Feb. 6, 2024, in appalling conditions, authorities said. He had no food in his digestive tract, and he was chained to a cot and “forced to live in a basement closet,” the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office revealed to Fox affiliate WXIX.
Roughly two months later, Moore was arrested at her home on Belgreen Lane. She was booked into the Hamilton County Justice Center on April 12. 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 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.
Turnage is scheduled to be sentenced for involuntary manslaughter and endangering children on Aug. 25. He is being held on a $500,000 bond and faces up to 11 years in prison.
Moore is being held on a $1 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 29. It is unclear if the same plea deal is or will be available to her. Law&Crime reached out to the prosecutor’s office for additional information.
