Man Who Cried on Camera Over Deceased Son's Body Charged with His Murder 34 Years Later

Victor Lee Turner broke down in tears during a 1989 news segment after claiming to have discovered the body of his son, 5-year-old Justin Lee Turner

A 60-year-old South Carolina man has been charged with murder in connection with the 1989 death of his son, decades after he wept on television after claiming to have discovered his son's dead body.

Authorities arrested Victor Lee Turner and his wife Megan Turner on Wednesday in Cross Hill, S.C., and charged them with murder in connection with the death of 5-year-old Justin Lee Turner, the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. (Megan, who was Justin's stepmother, was formerly known as Pamela Turner).

Justin’s body was found in March 1989 inside a camper on his family's property, two days after he went missing, WCSC reported, citing court documents.

In a news segment filmed by WCBD on the day Justin’s body was found, Victor is seen in footage breaking down on several occasions after claiming to have found his dead son. 

The video shows, in part, Victor briefly going inside the camper before emerging in tears.

“My son’s in there,” he says, appearing distraught.

Later in the video, he is seen sitting with part of his face buried in his hands and shaking his head as another person attempts to comfort him.

The family initially told authorities that Justin got on the school bus that morning but did not get off the bus, Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said at a Wednesday press conference, WCBD reports. But Lewis said this version of events "was not true."

“He never got on that bus," said Lewis. "He never got on that bus because he was dead inside that house."

When the boy's body was discovered, Victor and Megan allegedly exhibited "obvious" behavior that investigators believe indicated that the couple knew what had happened to Justin, WCSC reported, citing an arrest warrant.

“Rather than react to finding his son and personally checking for any indication of life whatsoever, [Victor Turner] instead backed out of the camper commenting, ‘He’s in there, my son is in there. Somebody’s hurt him,’” the arrest warrant states.

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Victor would later tell investigators that Justin "looked dead," that he "could feel that something was wrong with him" and that he "did NOT touch him," according to the warrant, as reported by WCSC.

Attorney information for either Victor or Megan were not listed in court documents reviewed by PEOPLE. It wasn’t immediately clear if they have entered pleas to the charges against them.

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