Webcam Model Murders Fiancé in Drunken Rage

- She got it off? - No. This is all a cruel joke. Oh no, I didn't do it. Stop! You got it! Now what on, what is your emergency? Then what on, I want the moment both of us are here, and he was outside this morning, he was cold. He was drinking and he was gone. I don't know if you want to think. Hello? I need a, I need grab that address, he was cold. What's the number of you who heard that? Is he a whiff of me? No. The hysterical caller is 26-year-old webcam model and cosplayer Melissa Turner. Stop everyone and welcome to my new channel. The victim is her boyfriend of two years. 25-year-old Matthew Trustler. Hillsboro County Sheriff's Officers and EMTs are dispatched to their home in Riverview, Florida, a booming suburb 13 miles south of Tampa. When they arrive, they find Melissa distraught and covered in blood. In the backyard, just feet away from the pool, Matthew lies face up on the ground. Paramedics check for a pulse, but it's too late. Matthew Trustler is pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives are immediately called in. When they arrive, they look at Matthew's body. His hands and arms are ravaged with multiple sharp wounds. They ask Melissa what happened, but she swears she doesn't know. Before she's transported to the Hillsboro Sheriff's Office for further questioning, Melissa gives police permission to search the house. There's blood throughout. But the kitchen is especially shocking. It's a bloodbath straight out of a horror film. There are broken dishes and empty alcohol bottles. And there's a bloody broken blade near the kitchen's sink. It's clear to detectives, Matthew suffered his wounds here in the kitchen, then stumbled outside and collapsed by the pool. What's not entirely clear is if he hurt himself or if someone else did. Do you want a cup of water? Is that some of you's grabbing you already, Ian? Detectives sit down with Melissa to see if they can get answers. There's some cold water for you. I try to find some nice soft tissues. That's when I was able to get, okay? I have no teeth in the kitchen. I just, you look very upset. I feel like a person got into blood all over my face. I'm sure you've had better days. But, getting the circumstances. I understand. Can you raise your right hand for me? You swear everything you're in Tommy today is going to be the truth? I swear. Okay, you can put your hand down. Can you take us back to yesterday from the time you guys woke up and do kind of how we got here today? Yeah, this is what you're saying. The best that you can. That's all we're asking for. Well, I got it before I am. Before I am yesterday. I got it before I am. Got up, got ready, my makeup and everything. I just got on count. Did my work log off around 30 in the morning? And then I went and I put up my workout clothes. He was awake. He put on his tube because we had just go to the gun. Do shoes together, do dikes. So we could work out together and everything. So we got dressed and we took the dog on a walk. So it was 30 minute walk. The mother neighborhood. Melissa says they returned home. She showered and then she and Matthew ran errands together. We would talk to you both. What time do you get home to go? It was around 12, 12, 3. Any afternoon? Yes. Do you get anywhere after home to go? We went to publics because we didn't really have anything for lunch at the house. And he wanted to cook us lunch. Around 2 o'clock, the couple arrived back home. Melissa says they ate lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon working before sitting down to play cards. Do you remember what time you started playing card games? It was around 6, 6, 15. Because the animals, the cats and the dog always get fed 7 to 8. So they started circling us and we were playing. When the clock worked out. They started to circle us around getting closer to 6, 37. So we got up and fed them. And then you remember what kind of games you were playing? Rody, Blackjack, you know, just, do you think? In fairness, when I was talking to you earlier back at the house over there. I smoked a little bit of alcohol on the breath. We were drinking last night. What were you guys drinking? vodka. Just vodka, anything else? I mean, vodka and coke and water, you know, just, you know. Were you having drinks or were you guys taking shots? We were taking shots. When do you think you started drinking? Was it when you started playing the card games? It was a little bit after that, yeah. So right after you started drinking? He had been having deer throughout the day, but that's, I mean, that's his thing. He drinks like a fish water. It was just the two of you there? Did anybody else come over? No. At dinner time, Melissa says she and Matthew took a break from drinking. We stopped drinking purposefully, stopped drinking, made ourselves just drink water. And then we had dinner. A good, like, filling in. Like, you had tortillas. There was girl beef. You know, all the taco we stopped and stuff. It was a really big filling dinner. And we felt good after that. Like, we felt fine. All right, so after dinner, what happens? What do you guys do next? We're at about 9.45 now, I'd say. Yeah, that sounds right. We had, I was, I'm truly, the heartselters. The heartselters. The heartselters. The heartselters that maybe you know about the same as the beer. I was having one of those. He was having a beer, a corona. So you drink a heartselter and he drinks that? I was drinking that. So, I mean, I was having that. He was having a beer. I was basically having the early version of beer. Okay. Essentially. And we were doing that. We were just talking about things. We were talking about the Halloween decorations a bit more. We talked about vacations, what we wanted to do. And, you know, kind of just trying to sort our lives out. So, you like make sure we had a clear path of what we wanted to do with our lives. Where were you guys at when you were having a conversation? We were having a conversation. In the kitchen. Okay. After that conversation, how things were happening? After talking to the kitchen, I remember going all the way down of the chair in the office. Now, what time do you think that was? 11. Okay. When you go to sleep, it's still just you and him. It is. The mouse. Okay. Is he awake when you fall asleep? Yes, he's always awake when I go to sleep. Was he in the office with you or? I don't believe so. I think he was in the kitchen. Would you say, no, I don't know what your alcohol tolerance is. What would you say you were intoxicated? I mean, I got drunk, yeah, but not a obliterated, you know. Like, I would say I was beyond the just buzzed because we did get drunk. But that's what we did. We were there at the house ourselves. That's what we would do. Tonight, we didn't have to get up and do anything the next morning. We had drinks. He always liked drinking. He was a drinker. Did he have it? Would you say he had a drinking problem or no? He had a drinking problem. Melissa Alleges, Matthews' alcohol abuse issues, began long before they started dating in 2017. I can't f*** you. I mean, his mother will tell you the same thing. He didn't. He wouldn't have been in himself. What about you? Me? Besides the alcohol last night, were there any drugs? Did you see you fall asleep in the chair in the office? Did you wake up at all during the night? What time did you wake up this morning? About 20 minutes before I. I don't know what time it was. I don't even know what time it is right now. It's 11.33 am. I don't know. I don't really don't sleep in. But whatever time I remember waking up and I didn't see him around. I saw the kitchen with. I didn't see him outside at first. I didn't see him there. I don't know what upstairs I checked. the bathroom. I thought he would to bed up in upstairs. I checked upstairs. And then I came up down again. Melissa says it was their dog that ultimately led her to Matthew. I saw her by the sliding glass door. She went outside. She wanted to go outside so I opened the door. I was really, but he was sitting in the chair and slumped over at the table. He was cold. He wanted to do the ground. I'm sorry. I know this must be very difficult for you. It feels like a dream. It feels like a nightmare because I've had nightmares. When you put a lot of the ground, what did you do? What did you try to do? What did you do anything? I kept his face. I tried to talk to him. His eyes were open. His people were doing anything, and that scared the s*** out of me. I'm back too. Come back to me. I guess I can't do this myself. I tried to check for a pulse. I didn't know what to do. I ran to the house. I grabbed a cloth and put water on it and came back. I did the same thing. I tried to start CPR. Then I went back to the house and I got my phone. It was I'm speaker phone with the operator, but I was just trying to give it to him. Okay. We tried to give him CPR. So you're on the phone. Did anything happen, or did the deputy just show up? She said that they were over there and I went and locked the door and I went back to him. What do you think happened? I mean, you know, you understand just from our standpoint. Obviously, we weren't there last night. If you could just take your best guess of what you thought could have happened. I don't know. I woke up to just see the kitchen of lighting that. Detectives inquire about Matthew's state of mind, and Melissa shares Matthew worked in construction, but he struggled with unemployment. The only thing that stressed him out was that he felt he wasn't doing his part to help the house, because I did make the majority of the money, especially with him being out of a job. But I reassured him as I had plenty of times that he don't, just because he wasn't actually working at getting a paycheck, didn't meet anything because he was at the house, taking care of the animals, cooking, cleaning, helping me, helping me help us help me have more time to make money. Do you ever talked about wanting to harm himself? In the past, he has, but I didn't think I'd never, I don't believe that. He always told me he was going to die off, and I hated him every time he was said, "Did you say anything about last night? No." According to Melissa, aside from Matthew's drinking, their relationship was in a good place, and they were planning to get married. "So there was no arguing last night? We were having a great time." At that point, detectives noticed Melissa is wearing late-text gloves. Melissa says one of the first responders gave her those gloves at the crime scene, "Do you mind just taking those gloves off for me? What?" I think it's from where I'm in the glass, because I know there was the broken glass this morning. I'm sorry, it's morning, it's not the clearest thing in my mind. What I'd like to do, Mr. Mayor, is I'd like to get some photographs of you, okay? And since you got, you know, honestly blood all over you, they're not the most comfortable clothes, I'd like to take your clothes and trade you out some other ways. Let me go ahead and step out. Did you have any other questions for us? When you're going to step out, I'm going to try to get them over here as quickly as we can and get some pictures of you. All right, do you want to use the restroom to think? Do you want to soda? Something else? Something other water? Uh, Coke would be nice. Coke? Yeah, I'll get you a Coke. All right. During the interview break, detectives are notified of a major development in the case. The medical examiner's preliminary findings are in. Matthew Trussler died from multiple stab wounds. And any sliver of doubt as to whether his death was a homicide or not, this integrates when the medical examiner reports one of those wounds was to Matthew's back. And on the heels of that evidence, comes something even more explosive. During a canvas of the neighborhood, a detective back at the crime scene discovered a neighbor across the street from Melissa and Matthew's house has an exterior security camera. Earlier this morning, between 4 and 5 a.m., that camera captured a chilling audio coming from Melissa and Matthew's house. To detectives, the female voice heard in the footage sounds suspiciously like Melissa Turner. Armed with this new evidence, detectives resume Melissa's interview. That's when they get a closer look at the cut on her hand. Detectives pause and call in an EMT. After he bandages the deep gash on her hand, the interview continues, "I don't remember exactly because I don't remember. Because I remember it was this morning because I remember getting some blood on him. I think I was looking for a phone and I was panicking and picked up the glass because I knew it was this morning. I remember that. I think I just couldn't find a phone at the time between the kitchen woods and I was just looking. I don't know what it looks like. I don't know. I think you said 20 minutes before you called. So let me just make sure I have the right time so I'm not talking. Your car came at 8.45 when the call came in. So you said 20 minutes, even if you lost track of time, say you woke up at 8. Any time between 11 last night to 8 this morning, did you have any argument? No, I know of. Well, you say that. Let me say this. We've been talking to the neighbors. There's cameras all the way and there's ring-go-go cameras and everything. Okay. What were the neighbors saying? What? It ain't what the neighbors are saying. It's a video. There's arguing coming from the house. It's a male and a female. I have no memory of any argument at 4 in the morning. Okay. Do you have a tendency to do things without you remembering? No. That's why I'm confused right now. I'm a little confused too. That's why I was asking you. Yeah, because that's not me. So something happened you would remember? Yes. I don't really have memory lapses. But you don't remember this morning. I do not remember 4 o'clock this morning down. After her repeated denials, the other detective calls Melissa out. Yeah, the evidence that there's arguing coming from your house at 4 o'clock in the morning. So I don't want you to go down a road where you say that you just have no memory of that. But we need from you that would probably be a lot better off and make a lot more sense is to come forward and tell us what that argument was about at 4 o'clock, rather than say you don't remember. Suddenly, Melissa's story changes. She admits. She Matthew did fight the argument was him waking me up because he was a night person as I told you guys he's staying up till 4 in the morning whenever he got drunk is not on her top I would say he woke me up and we got an argument over that because he was still up at 4 in the morning drinking when he had a problem he knew about it he knew he should fix it he was trying to work on it but being up at 4 in the morning drunk off your ass wasn't doing anybody in good and that was what the argument was about then okay so just so I'm clear you do have a memory of what happened right at 4 o'clock yes now that you're awake and you're having this memory of arguing with him at 4 o'clock what do you remember from that time I remember having the argument I don't remember the kitchen having there was no broken glass there was no blood anywhere that you know nothing I just remember arguing with them was there anybody else there not that I saw why were you yelling at him get up get up all of that stuff we guys he has a tendency sometimes actually a lot of the times whenever he is drinking and gets that drunk into the hours of the morning he would just fall over he'd be standing he'd be standing and he would just fall on the floor because he just gets that drunk and I just I mean I might have but yeah so I was upset with him and was yelling at him because I was upset that he had done that again we may have gotten an argument at 4 in the morning I would never and he would never we never would do anything to harm each other we had a life together we had plans and everything was going perfect for us let me ask you something we've been sitting here talking for a few minutes probably an hour or two at least you told us that the guys were there it's only two of you two of you were drinking at first you didn't want to tell us about the argument at 4 o'clock this morning but you didn't so I appreciate that okay but my problem is is I got back porch with stab wounds stab wounds or wounds from a short object okay and the only people that were there were you and him so you how do you get those cuts I don't know well he probably didn't do it to himself and the only other person that was there was you so I'm just trying to figure out and give you the opportunity to explain what happened because I'm gonna be honest with you I've been doing this a long time and I've talked to a lot of people in this situation though I wasn't there there's three sides to the story there's your version his version and the truth what I'm trying to give you the opportunity is I'm trying to give a list of the opportunity to be this good person over here that may have got upset and reacted out of anger and not her normal character or this person over here that just is mean manipulative raging angry killer pre-meditated okay was it an accident because you're upset here he won't you up okay well what happened help me okay under increasing pressure Melissa's story changes yet again talking about it more now thinking back on it this is for me grabbing a knife out of his hand I don't remember which one it was that he had but it was from taking the knife out of his hand and then what happened I don't even know if I got the knife away from him doing this but I know he had it that's a decision you're gonna have to make we're not trying to do that and things escalated from there what do you mean by that I mean the neck isn't for me my jaw sore like I got head yeah I remember being thrown over the counter a lot of my stomach I think in the moment the onion things things just escalated like I said you got pissed off got a little more aggressive of what he was doing okay and how did you react scared at first he always scares me even his voice can scare me sometimes when he takes on a certain tone I'm not I'm not trying to be down about this I'm going to give you 14 or six hours detectives leave the room but Melissa keeps talking this is all a cruel joke I know I didn't do it while Melissa still seems convinced of her innocence additional evidence recovered from inside her and Matthew's home points even more to her guilt at approximately 338 AM motion detection cameras capture Melissa running towards her office minutes later she's seen following Matthew at 401 AM Melissa runs from the direction of the kitchen she appears agitated this is around the same time her neighbor's security camera captured the sound of her screaming at 408 AM Melissa can be seen standing at the front door talking to no one her hand appears like it's been cut based on all the evidence detectives conclude that Melissa and Matthew got into a fight and in a drunken rage she stabbed him and then based on the time stamped video the footage Melissa left Matthew to die and waited almost 4 hours to call 911 Melissa Turner is charged with second-degree murder she pleads not guilty after multiple COVID-related delays her trial begins in February of 2022 on the stand Melissa's story changes again she testifies that in a drunken rage Matthew tried to choke her and she stabbed him in self-defense to bolster her claims defense attorneys point to the medical examiner's reports it reveals Matthew trusslers blood alcohol level was nearly 5 times Florida's legal limit but the jury doesn't buy it on February 18th 2022 after 7 hours of deliberations they find Melissa Turner guilty of second-degree murder the following month a judge sentences her to 20 and a half years in prison plus 10 years probation before she's led away Matthew's mother looks her son's killer in the eyes the story that you have been tried has caused me as much pain as his death you and I both know that Matthew was the best thing that ever happened to you.