It’s been nearly a year since a jury convicted Bree Kuhn for murdering her husband, Collin Turner, in their Gulf Breeze home in 2021.
Kuhn, then a U.S. Navy chief petty officer, shot and killed Turner, a 33-year-old retired U.S. Marine, after an hours-long argument escalated to violence at the couple’s home in Gulf Breeze, Florida, on Sept. 8, 2021.
Police were called multiple times during the couple’s altercation, and Turner was on the phone with 911 when Kuhn shot him multiple times. The couple’s three children were at home at the time of the killing.
Since her conviction and sentence, Kuhn has been housed at the Lowell Correctional Institution Annex in Ocala, Florida.
Here’s what to know about Bree Kuhn.
Bree Kuhn verdict
A week-long trial in Santa Rosa County ended with a jury returning a verdict of guilty, determining Kuhn committed first-degree premeditated murder.
Bree Kuhn sentence
Since the jury convicted Kuhn of premeditated murder, Florida law ties the hands of the presiding judge, who can only levy a life sentence or death penalty.
The state did not pursue the death penalty, so Judge James Duncan sentenced the former Navy officer to life in a Florida prison without parole.
Why did Bree Kuhn kill her husband Collin Turner?
According to law enforcement officials, the Kuhn and Turner had been in a running argument in the hours leading up to Turner’s murder.
Turner reportedly wanted to take the three kids – Turner’s two children, then 3 and 4, and Kuhn’s child from a previous relationship – to his parents house in Georgia, but Kuhn was against it. At Kuhn’s sentencing, Turner’s parents posited that Kuhn had killed their son because he was seeking custody of the children.
On the day of the shooting, Kuhn initially called the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office at 12:53 p.m. Deputies arrived but left after finding no evidence of a physical altercation.
SRSO dispatchers then received a second call at 5 p.m., this time from Turner, but when deputies arrived and found no evidence of physical abuse, they again left the premises.
Turner placed the final 911 call that night at 6:22 p.m. telling the dispatcher that Kuhn had locked him in their garage. Turner told dispatchers that his wife “tried to break his arm when he tried to get back in the residence.”
A bang was heard during the call followed by the dispatcher asking, “What was that?”
“She just shot me!” Turner said. The call then picks up three additional shots followed by silence.
Bree Kuhn claimed she killed Collin Turner in self defense
At trial, Kuhn’s attorneys presented the jury with Kuhn’s claims that Turner had been abusive toward her since his medical discharge from the Marine Corps, citing his 100% disability status due to traumatic brain injury.
The defense claimed that Kuhn suffered mental, physical and even sexual abuse at the hands of Turner, and that she made the initial call to law enforcement because Turner had shoved her to the floor during their altercation.
Kuhn’s attorneys said Turner kept firearms around the house and in his truck, which they claimed led Kuhn to believe he would seriously harm the family.
“He had threatened to kill these kids before, and her as well,” Kuhn’s attorney Randy Etheridge told the jury. “She was worried he was going to take the kids and kill them.”
Prosecutors noted that “there is no verification, documentation of any of these allegations.”
Defense attorneys initially planned for Kuhn to testify abuse the alleged abuse and for a psychologist to present her opinion that Kuhn suffered from “battered souse syndrome” and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, Kuhn ultimately decided not to testify, leading the defense to not call the doctor to the witness stand.
Where is Bree Kuhn now?
Following the jury trial, Kuhn was found guilty as charged of premeditated first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison Sept. 27, 2024.
Kuhn, now 38, is currently serving her sentence at the Lowell Correctional Institution Annex in Gainesville, Florida.
She was serving at Naval Air Station Pensacola at the time of the homicide, and after her conviction Kuhn was issued a general discharge from the Navy.
She currently has an appeal pending before the Florida First District Court of Appeal.
Who is Collin Turner
Collin Turner served in the United States Marine Corps for 14 years, and, according to his family, was most proud of his EOD Explosive Ordnance Disposal accomplishments and rose to the level of Gunnery Sergeant.
After leaving the service, he was a stay at-home-dad and student. He was close to finishing his coursework for an electrical engineering degree and posthumously was awarded an honorary Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University. He had been accepted into the electrical engineering masters program at Johns Hopkins University.
His family said among the most important things in life to him were his children, family and education, and that he was known for leadership amongst his military peers, and his care and love for his children among his neighbors.
Turner’s parents said Kuhn had sought to destroy his reputation, and that he was not the “evil man” she described.
“He was a man who loved his wife and tried his hardest to make things work,” his mother, Tere Turner, said at Kuhn’s sentencing. “He loved his children, retiring from the Marines early so he would not miss any part of their young lives. And now he’s not there for them at all, due to Bree’s actions.”
What happened to the couple’s children?
All three of their children were home during the shooting. According to statement made during the trial, the oldest daughter currently lives with her natural father, and the remaining two children live with Turner’s parents.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Bree Kuhn serving life sentence in Ocala, Florida, for murdering husband Collin Turner
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson and Kevin Robinson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
