On a crisp January morning in 1993, Vivian King found herself dialing 911.
Her 17-year-old daughter, Shilie Turner, had vanished without a trace since Sunday evening. Shilie had left their Westfield, Pennsylvania home to attend a dance with a friend, but when she failed to return and missed an important track meet the next day, concern quickly turned to fear.
“This was a significant concern,” journalist Yvonne Latty remarked during a May 30 segment of Philly Homicide. “Shilie was not only the star athlete of the team but also someone who never missed a commitment. Her absence was alarming.”
What Happened to Shilie Turner?
Residing with her mother, stepfather Clarence Jones, and two sisters, Shilie was celebrated by friends as a potential Olympic contender and a natural leader.
Quanda Gary, a close friend, described the bond between Vivian and Shilie as typical. With Vivian working long hours, Shilie often managed household chores and cared for her siblings.
This responsibility might explain why Shilie chose to keep her romantic life under wraps.
In fact, Turner wasn’t attending a party the night she disappeared, her friend Andrea told investigators. Instead, she planned to meet up with her boyfriend Shaun Williams.
According to Andrea, Shilie got ready for the date at her place, and she agreed to cover for her if Vivian called. Andrea also lent Shilie her father’s leather jacket to match her purple tracksuit, before walking her to the bus stop.
Later, when police paid a visit to Shaun, he said the couple had a quiet evening at home with his family, then listened to music in his bedroom. When they realized it was 1:30 a.m., Shaun escorted Shilie to the bus stop to catch a ride home.
As Shaun later told Philly Homicide, “That was the last time I saw her.”
While Shaun was initially a suspect, investigators cleared him after the bus driver recalled seeing the teens part ways and Shilie board alone.
One month passed with no answers, until investigators got their first breakthrough: A man walking his dog through a wooded area of Fairmount Park had found a female body under a tarp.
The victim had been shot in the face, chest and hand. While the body needed to be defrosted before making an identification, one detail was unmistakable: Shilie’s purple tracksuit.
Detectives broke the news to Vivian, who immediately named Shilie’s track coach Tim Hickey as a suspect.
“Vivian was trying to tell us that she thought it was inappropriate for a male to spend so much time with the girls of the track team,” said retired detective James Dougherty. “She felt that Tim Hickey was taking a very strong liking to Shilie.”
However, Tim had an alibi: He had attended a party that night with friends and witnesses confirmed it.
Who Killed Shilie Turner?
Meanwhile, Shilie’s funeral raised more questions.
As mourners packed the church to pay their respects, Yvonne, who also attended, noticed something unusual.
“Her sisters were crying hysterically, and Vivian was looking around and waving at people,” the journalist said. “She’s like, ‘Hey, hi, Yvonne, how are you?’ That is not the way a grieving mother acts.”
Others felt uneasy too, but it took a local radio host to alert police.
When Vivian went on a talk show to discuss her daughter’s death, she made an eerie comment.
“What I remember about the show was Vivian describing in detail what Shilie looked like when she was shot and killed,” said Yvonne. “She said her teeth were glistening in the moonlight.”
After the interview, the host called the police.
“That moment was very important to the detectives,” said retired assistant DA Judith Frankel Rubino. “How could she know that—unless she was there?”
Behind the scenes, investigators also heard rumors that Vivian and Shilie had a rocky relationship.
Police re-interviewed Vivian, who once again pointed a finger at the coach.
When she was asked to take a polygraph test, her reaction startled investigators.
“Vivian put her head back and opened her mouth really wide,” said Dougherty. “An ungodly laugh came from inside her. To this day, I still get chills in my bones.”
Vivian ultimately agreed to the test, but when she failed it, she started crying, telling investigators, “‘You must think I’m a monster—only a monster could have done this.’”
By that point, detectives knew they had their killer, and before long, Vivian confessed to murdering Shilie.
According to Vivian, she had consumed a lot of alcohol while waiting for Shilie to come home that night. When she finally walked through the door, the pair got into a physical fight.
At one point, Vivian went upstairs to retrieve her gun, then ordered Shilie into the car, claiming she would abandon her at the police station.
Instead, Vivian drove Shilie to Fairmount Park where they fought again.
“She hit Shilie on the side of the head,” said Dougherty, “then proceeded to shoot Shilie.”
Vivian was charged with murder, a twist that stunned the community.
Years later, Yvonne had a theory.
“Vivian King ran track when she was a child, but she wasn’t nearly as successful as Shilie,” the reporter shared. “I believe that Vivian was really jealous of Shilie…Shilie was a star and Vivian was not.”
During her October 1993 trial, Vivian claimed her confession was coerced. However, she was convicted of third-degree murder after the jury decided she was too intoxicated to realize what she had done. She was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison.
