Man Arrested In Murder Of Woman In Hallandale Beach
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
HALLANDALE BEACH (CBSMiami) -- Police confirmed Thursday that a man wanted for the murder of a Hallandale Beach woman is under arrest.
Two of the victim's sisters told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that they are grateful that an arrest has been made.
Hallandale Beach Police took Eddie Sabastain Mosley, 29, into custody at about 2 a.m. at South City Beach Park in Hallandale Beach and charged him with murder in the death of 24-year old Marlena Turnquest.
The search for Mosley who was originally named a person of interest was stepped up after police got credible information that Mosley had actually ridden his bike to a Hollywood barber and had his appearance dramatically changed on Wednesday.
"He told the barber everything that happened, that he killed somebody," said one of the barbers in the shop who didn't want to be identified.
He said the other barbers thought Mosley was joking. But later on in the day they realized, when Mosley's picture was flashed on the news, that this was no joke and they called the police.|
Authorities said Mosley shot Turnquest and Deneil Leroy Merritt, 30, early Wednesday in front of her grandmother's Hallandale Beach home. Turnquest died. Merritt was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, where he is listed in critical condition.
Mosley lives six blocks away from Turnquest and has a prior criminal history including theft, burglary, and drug charges. In addition to the murder charge, Mosley is also charged with attempted murder of his brother and possession of ammunition by a felon.
"My family is very grateful, we're happy that they caught him, that they finally made an arrest so now we can sleep better. It doesn't ease our pain and it doesn't bring my sister back but we're happy that he's off the street and that he will be punished," said China Preston.
Preston told D'Oench "She meant the world to me, my sister. I looked up to her and she looked up to me. She was good and a quiet person. She never bothered anybody. It hurts a lot. She would always make us laugh and make us smile. It was cruel and it was heartless. It was a senseless act of violence."
She said, "I miss her more than ever. And now, I will never see her again."
"I feel a lot better now because I couldn't sleep without him still being out there. I was scared to leave my house but now I'm good. Thank God for that," said another of Turnquest's sisters Egypt Gibson. "I'm gonna miss her and she's in a better place now."
Mosley was initially listed as a person of interest but after the credible evidence police received he was named a suspect in the case prompting a SWAT team to enter his home after a more than 9-hour standoff.
"We do have evidence that shows that the three did know each other. Something occurred earlier this morning that this shots-fired incident occurred," said Hallandale Police Maj. Pedro Abut on Wednesday.
Family members told CBS4 that he and Marlena may have been more than friends. Marlena had lent him money that he eventually paid back, but it seems, they said, he wasn't happy about her plans to move back to North Carolina.
Turnquest's family has listed a GoFundMe page to pay for her funeral expenses. Click here for more.
