Shirley Turner

Shirley Jane Turner (28 January 1961 – 18 August 2003) was the Canadian-American daughter of a U.S. serviceman and a local woman from St. Anthony, Newfoundland. Turner was raised with three siblings in Wichita, Kansas, but moved to Newfoundland with her mother after her parents separated. Her parents later divorced. In 1980, Turner enrolled at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, seeking to embark on a medical career.

n March 1996, Turner began a relationship with a St. John's resident who was 13 years her junior. After the man broke up with Turner and moved elsewhere in Newfoundland, she inundated him with phone calls. In November 1997, Turner confronted him in Halifax, Nova Scotia and struck him in the jaw with her high-heeled shoe. After consulting with his parents, the ex-boyfriend moved to Westtown Township, Pennsylvania, United States in 1998. However, Turner followed him and left threatening voicemails over the following year. Turner began traveling to Pennsylvania to make unannounced visits to the ex-boyfriend's apartment. On several occasions, he summoned state troopers to convince her to leave. He expressed fear to police of "what Dr. Turner would do next."

On 7 April 1999, the ex-boyfriend found Turner lying semi-conscious outside of his apartment. She had ingested a combined 65 milligrams of over-the-counter drugs in what may not have been a sincere suicide attempt. Turner was wearing a black dress, and carried a bouquet of red roses and two suicide notes on her person. One was addressed to the man and the other to her psychiatrist; the letter read, "I am not evil, just sick." Turner was rushed to a hospital, where her stomach was pumped. The following day, the man found a voicemail by a female caller – likely Turner disguising her voice – who said, "Dr. Turner died last night."