Coatesville man accused of shooting 16-year-old, chain-sawing body
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Laquanta Chapman, 33, is accused of killing Aaron Turner, 16, of Coatesville, and then using a chain saw to cut up the body so it could be stuffed in trash bags and discarded.
The family of a Coatesville teen, who thought their loved one was performing community service on Oct. 30, 2008, had no inkling of the horrors he allegedly faced.
As weeks passed and the disappearance of Aaron Turner, 16, became more suspicious, investigators made a grisly discovery: A Coatesville neighbor targeted in a Nov. 15, 2008, drug raid had dismembered some pit bulls to cover up evidence that the chainsaw had been used earlier on Turner, prosecutors said.
Next week, Laquanta Chapman, 33 will be tried by a jury in front of Chester County Judge William P. Mahon on charges that include first- and third-degree murder, conspiracy, abuse of a corpse, cruelty to animals, and drug and weapons offenses. The prosecution, led by Chief Deputy District Attorney Patrick Carmody, is seeking the death penalty.
Jury selection, which began Wednesday, is expected to be completed on Monday. Opening statements in the trial are scheduled for Tuesday. Chapman is represented by Evan Kelly and J. Michael Farrell.
Prosecution witnesses will include Chapman’s cousin, Bryan Byrd, 23, of Newark, N.J. Bryd pleaded guilty in November 2011 to third-degree murder, conspiracy, abuse of a corpse, and related offenses in connection with the case and is awaiting sentencing.
Prosecutors have given this account of the alleged crime:
Chapman and an unidentified co-conspirator forced Turner at gunpoint into Chapman’s basement, stripped him, and instructed Byrd to go upstairs and turn up the music as loud as possible. When Byrd returned to the basement, he saw Chapman and the other man shoot Turner, who may have owed Chapman money, police said.
In statements to police after his arrest, Byrd said he helped Chapman use a chain saw to dismember the body so that it could be stuffed into trash bags and carried outside, police said. The body was never recovered.
After investigators executed the search warrant at Chapman’s home, located across the street from Turner’s residence on Chester Avenue, Chapman allegedly told police that the blood on clothing and chain saws that officers found in his basement came from the dogs he had killed. Turner had never been in his house, Chapman allegedly told police.
Prosecutors said DNA evidence – and Byrd – disputed Chapman’s claim.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
