MUNCIE, IN — A state appeals court has upheld the attempted murder conviction of a former Muncie resident convicted of trying to throw his then-girlfriend in front of an oncoming train.
A Delaware Circuit Court 4 jury in July 2025 deliberated for about 30 minutes before finding Di Morriea Di Ante Shaun Turner, now 26, guilty of the Level 1 felony, which carried up to 40 years in prison.
During a two-day trial, prosecutors presented testimony indicating the 17-year-old victim in the case was severely injured when struck by the train at a crossing on West 23rd Street on June 19, 2019.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig showed jurors a video taken from the train that showed Turner struggling with the victim as the locomotive approached the crossing.
A police officer also said the girl underwent “reconstruction surgery on her face due to an open wound” and had to have staples placed in her head and stitches on her forehead.
Judge John Feick later sentenced Turner — more recently of Anderson — to 36 years in prison.
In an appeal, Turner maintained jurors should not have heard evidence about his prior criminal record, and that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction.
In a 3-0 ruling issued on June 4, the state appeals court found the evidence of prior violence involving Turner and the victim was “not particularly inflammatory.”
In the ruling, Judge Robert Altice also wrote that “the strongest evidence of Turner’s intent at the time he forced (the teen) in front of the train is the video from the train’s dash camera.”
“In the 10 seconds before (the girl) was struck by the train, Turner is seen on the video standing inside the safety arm and physically blocking (the teen) from moving away from the tracks,” Altice wrote. “He then pushes her backwards closer to the tracks with the approaching train.”
The jury also found Turner guilty of aggravated battery and domestic battery with a deadly weapon.
However, because those charges were based on the same actions leading to the attempted murder conviction, Judge Feick did not impose sentences from those crimes.
The appeals court ordered that the battery convictions should be vacated.
Turner, incarcerated at the Pendleton Correctional Facility, has a projected release date in January 2048, according to state Department of Correction records.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Appeals court upholds ex-Muncie man’s attempted murder conviction
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press | USA TODAY Network
