The identification of Dalewayne Turner connected scattered remains, retail records and a basement freezer to two murder defendants.
LAKE MATTOON, Ill. — The investigation into Dalewayne Turner’s death began not with a missing-person report or a call from his home, but with boaters who noticed something unusual in the water. A distinctive tattoo on the remains they found would help lead police across Illinois to Turner’s Plainfield residence and, ultimately, to two people now charged with his murder.
James Adams, 26, and Robin Turner, 62, have been indicted on three counts each of first-degree murder in the death of Dalewayne Turner, 38. Adams was his half-brother, and Robin Turner was his wife. Both had already been charged with dismembering a human body and concealing a homicidal death. The defendants remain presumed innocent, and the accounts of the killing and its aftermath come from police statements, court filings and prosecutors’ presentations at pretrial hearings.
On June 28, families and friends were boating on Lake Mattoon when they encountered what appeared at first to be dead fish or an object floating near their boat. One boater used an oar to move it and saw that it was part of a human arm. The group called 911. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department responded and asked the Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation to assume control of the case. Search teams returned to the lake and recovered more remains over the following days.
The arm carried tattoos that investigators believed could be recognized. One image included a football-related design associated with the Green Bay Packers, according to local reporting. Police sought the public’s help while forensic investigators compared the remains with identifying information. State police later announced that the victim was Dalewayne Turner of Plainfield, more than 160 miles north of the lake. The identification gave investigators a name, an address and a circle of people to examine.
From that point, the case became an effort to connect two distant scenes. One was the lake, where black bags containing remains were allegedly found with materials meant to weigh them down. The other was the house in the 2400 block of Ruth Fitzgerald Drive where Dalewayne Turner lived with Adams and Robin Turner. Investigators examined travel records, surveillance video, store transactions and license-plate reader data as they worked to determine who had moved between those locations.
State police executed a search warrant at the Plainfield house July 1. Adams and Robin Turner were taken into custody, and investigators searched the home. In the basement, they found a chest freezer that prosecutors say was locked, taped shut, covered by a blanket and topped with cinder blocks. Inside, according to court records, were Dalewayne Turner’s head, neck and torso. The discovery established that portions of his remains had allegedly been kept at the house while other portions were transported to Lake Mattoon.
The condition of the home became another part of the investigative trail. Prosecutors said officers saw recently painted surfaces, new carpeting and areas where wood paneling had been removed. They also reported evidence that pieces of material from the house had been burned in a fire pit. Bleach and cleaning products were discussed in court documents. Investigators interpreted those conditions as signs of an effort to remove blood and alter areas where the violence or dismemberment may have occurred. The defense has not yet had a trial at which to challenge that interpretation.
Retail evidence helped police fill in the route between the house and lake. Court filings allege Adams bought weights and duct tape at a Walmart near Mattoon. Prosecutors also cited purchases of concrete, a dolly and supplies that could be used to move or conceal heavy objects. Investigators compared receipts and store footage with vehicle movements. Bags recovered from the lake allegedly contained weights or concrete, supporting the prosecution’s claim that the items were intended to keep the remains from rising to the surface.
Electronic records offered a separate timeline. Prosecutors described messages between Adams and Robin Turner about carpet cleaner, bleach and moving heavy items. One message attributed to Robin Turner told Adams to fully delete everything. Authorities also presented information about internet searches involving a chest freezer and other subjects they considered relevant to the concealment investigation. Such records can show that a device accessed particular information, but their full meaning depends on context, timing, account ownership and other evidence that can be disputed in court.
The public account of the death itself is less complete than the account of how investigators found the remains. Robin Turner told authorities that the half-brothers argued about sports cards at the house on June 21, according to court filings. She said Dalewayne Turner was gone when she later returned and that she detected a faint smell of bleach. Prosecutors say Adams eventually admitted that he stabbed Dalewayne Turner several times. Adams told investigators that he acted in self-defense, but he did not provide a full recorded account after being advised of his rights, according to the filings.
A call from another family member moved the investigation closer to the house before officers carried out the search. Steven Turner, another brother of Dalewayne Turner, told police he visited the residence and heard Adams and Robin Turner discuss the death. Steven Turner said Adams told him he had grabbed a knife and stabbed Dalewayne Turner. Court records state that Steven Turner left and called 911. The statements attributed to him may become important evidence, although the defense can question his recollection and the circumstances in which the alleged admissions were made.
The grand jury indictment filed near the end of July alleges that Adams and Robin Turner are criminally responsible for Dalewayne Turner’s death from sharp-force injuries. The public reports do not yet explain why prosecutors brought three murder counts against each defendant or whether the counts rely on different legal theories. Illinois prosecutors often charge alternative theories when they believe the evidence could support more than one way of proving first-degree murder. The court will later determine which counts may proceed and how jurors should consider them.
Robin Turner’s alleged role has drawn particular scrutiny because the public record has described both actions and communications before and after her husband’s death. Prosecutors have portrayed her as a participant in an extended concealment effort. Publicly available accounts do not establish that she inflicted the fatal wounds, and the state will have to show why it believes she is legally accountable for murder. That could depend on evidence of planning, assistance, shared intent or accountability under Illinois law.
Adams’ reported self-defense claim raises a different factual dispute. Court records have not provided a full description of the confrontation, the injuries Adams may have suffered or whether physical evidence supports his assertion that Dalewayne Turner attacked him. Prosecutors have nevertheless obtained an indictment, indicating that a grand jury found probable cause for the murder charges. Probable cause is a lower standard than the proof beyond a reasonable doubt required for conviction.
The physical distance between Plainfield and Lake Mattoon is likely to remain central to the state’s presentation. Prosecutors can use the route to organize evidence from cameras, stores, vehicles and phone records, while defense attorneys may challenge whether every movement or purchase has been reliably tied to a defendant. Forensic testing could also establish when the remains were moved, whether evidence from the lake matches tools or materials at the residence, and whether the alleged cleanup affected investigators’ ability to reconstruct the original scene.
For Dalewayne Turner’s relatives, the tattoos served a purpose beyond helping police make an identification. They restored a name to remains that initially reached authorities without one and allowed the family to learn what investigators believed had happened. Relatives have said they were devastated by the allegations and troubled that the accused were people who lived with Turner. The family has also faced the practical difficulty of arranging memorial services while authorities recover and examine evidence from more than one location.
The case remains active in Will County Circuit Court. Adams and Robin Turner are in custody while the prosecution and defense prepare for arraignment, evidence exchange and pretrial motions. Investigators have not released a complete forensic reconstruction, and the defendants have not been tried. What began as an unidentified tattooed arm in a lake will now move through a court process focused on how Dalewayne Turner died, who was legally responsible and how his remains came to be divided between two Illinois locations.
Author note: Last updated July 31, 2026.