A DuPage County woman who shot and killed her boyfriend of 8 years in March 2020 has been released by DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin.
The charge of First-degree murder against her has been officially dropped.
On the evening of March 17, 2020, police were called to a home in the the 6s100 block of Lakewood Drive and found Nicarro Laroy Drake with a fatal gunshot wound. According to a police report, Drake’s girlfriend, April O. Turner, grabbed a handgun from the closet after an alleged act of physical abuse during a party at her home.
Turner shot at Drake three times, hitting him once in the chest.
In a statement released yesterday, Berlin explained his decision.
“I made this decision following a thorough and extensive examination of recently discovered evidence and information provided to my office by both the defendant’s attorneys and investigators from the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office regarding the victim’s alleged prior conduct and violent character.
“In July, 2022, April Turner’s attorneys filed a motion to admit this information and evidence, discovered after the charges were filed in March, 2020. The strength of this evidence prohibits the State from continuing this prosecution in good faith and meeting our burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not legally justified in using deadly force against the victim. “
“This evidence shines a new light on the case that unequivocally confirms Ms. Turner was the victim of chronic domestic abuse at the hands of the victim.
“I fully understand the weight and consequences of this decision to both the victim’s family and to Ms. Turner. I made this decision however, focused squarely on justice, based solely on the facts and circumstances of the case as well as the law in Illinois regarding the admissibility of evidence in self-defense cases.”
