Texas Mom Charged With Murder After Her Daughter Was Struck, Killed On Highway

A 50-year-old mother has been indicted on two charges, including felony murder, in connection to the death of her teenage daughter, who was allegedly fatally struck by a pickup truck while walking on a Texas highway.

Tenby Turner allegedly abandoned her daughter, Sterling Grace Turner-Williams, at a mall in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 23, 2021, after the pair had dinner and watched a movie together, KXAN-TV reported, citing court documents.

The mother faces charges of second-degree murder and abandoning a child in imminent danger.

Retired Judge Charlie Baird told KXAN that the charges against the mother were upgraded to murder because her daughter died as the original abandonment felony was committed.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the outlet, Turner took the 14-year-old girl to Barton Creek Mall for dinner and a movie at around 6 p.m.

Turner claimed in a 911 call that she "blacked out" and woke up in her car outside a dental office at around 2 a.m., court records said. The office was 10 miles away from the mall.

"We were at the movie theater and... we separated at that point in time, and to be honest with you I had too much to drink and I woke up in my car and she had called me 19 times," Turner told the 911 operator, according to the affidavit.

Turner allegedly admitted to drinking alcohol in her car at the mall.

"I told [Sterling] I was talking on the phone and sent her inside [the mall]. I didn't want her to see me drinking in the car," Turner said, according to court documents obtained by KEYE-TV.

During the call, Turner said the last time she saw her daughter was "a little bit" after 6 p.m., the affidavit stated.

Turner said Sterling had Asperger syndrome, according to the affidavit.

At 8:49 p.m. that night, 911 received a report of a female, later identified as Sterling, who was walking northbound on the MoPac Expressway, according to court records obtained by KXAN. A few minutes later, another 911 caller reported a female was hit by a vehicle while crossing the southbound lanes of MoPac.

Austin police found Sterling with traumatic injuries at 8:55 p.m. in the 2700 block of MoPac. The child was pronounced dead four hours later.

According to court records, Turner called 911 around 4 a.m. the next day to report her daughter missing.

"I can only state that this was a tragic accident, not a crime. Ms. Turner is heartbroken about the loss of her daughter. We will enter a plea of not guilty to all charges. I have no further comment," Turner's attorney Sam Bassett said in a statement obtained by KXAN Tuesday.

Turner is scheduled to appear in court in February.