{"id":397442,"date":"2026-04-25T19:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T19:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/397442\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T19:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T19:20:16","slug":"killer-babysitter-serial-murderer-lise-turners-cot-death-lies-and-a-mothers-unending-grief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/397442\/","title":{"rendered":"Killer babysitter: Serial murderer Lise Turner\u2019s cot-death lies and a mother\u2019s unending grief"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree Ashworth remembers every minute of the day her son was murdered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">When she left her Christchurch house, her happy, healthy baby boy was tucked up in his bed, his sheets tight around him and his breaths deep and steady.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">When she returned, there was no more breath \u2013 no more life left in his tiny body.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">As she sat watching tragedy unfold in what was, hours before, the happiest of homes, she was comforted by Lise Turner, her so-called friend and trusted babysitter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Little did she know, Turner was a killer. And Michael was not her first victim.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cIt amazes me just how accurate everything is in my mind, how much detail I can recall \u2013 so it\u2019s always there. I live with it every single day,\u201d Lauree told the Herald.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI\u2019ve always said that I can talk about my whole experience like a documentary, but when &#8230; people ask me questions, that makes me stop and think, and that\u2019s when I feel the emotion \u2026 which I\u2019ve always usually tried to avoid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI don\u2019t even think my other children \u2013 who are all adults now \u2013 have ever really known what we went through. <\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI\u2019ve never really talked about what we actually went through \u2026 I don\u2019t think you can really explain the magnitude of what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Michael Clark Tinnion was born in September 1983. He was the third son for Lauree and her first with her then-partner, Kelvin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Michael was a beautiful little boy. His big dark eyes were framed with long, fluffy lashes, and rosy cheeks punctuated his always-smiling little face.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">He was a much-loved son and baby brother.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">And then, soon after a deeply troubled and dangerous woman got an opportunity to be alone with him, he was gone.<\/p>\n<p>The life and lies of Lise Turner<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Turner was born Lise Dwan, the younger  daughter of June and Patrick Dwan. Her sister was about 13 when she was born.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Born in Upper Hutt, Turner moved with her family to Levin when she was 4, and then to Christchurch a year later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She attended Fendalton Primary School, Heaton Intermediate and Burnside High School. Her final year in education was spent at a \u201cspecial\u201d school in Salisbury near Nelson.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Lise Turner was convicted of murdering three babies including her own two daughters, and attempting to murder three others. Photo \/ 60 Minutes\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Lise Turner was convicted of murdering three babies including her own two daughters, and attempting to murder three others. Photo \/ 60 Minutes<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">From an early age, there were concerns about Lise. Before she started high school, she spent four years under the care of child psychologists for issues including \u201cdrawing attention to herself\u201d and \u201cgeneral misbehaviour\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">At 16, she left school and went to work for her godfather until he died nine months later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">After that, those close to Lise  said she only had odd jobs and was \u201cvery unsettled in life\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In 1973, she was in a relationship with  James \u201cJimmy\u201d Lewis. She left him about six months before he and his brother murdered an elderly woman, Phyllis Reidy, in her Christchurch home in April 1974.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">When she was 21, she married Aiden Duckworth. Six months later, that relationship ended. Duckworth was later jailed in Australia for fraud.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In April 1978, she met Godfrey Turner, a superintendent for the Ministry of Energy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">The couple lived together in various locations around the country, including Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington and Twizel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">They never married, but Turner legally changed her name to match her partner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In October 1979, they welcomed their first daughter, Megan Jennifer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Just three months later, while Godfrey was at work, Turner rushed the baby girl to the Twizel doctor\u2019s surgery, claiming she was having trouble breathing. She could not be resuscitated.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Megan Turner was murdered by her mother, Lise Turner. Her father, Godfrey, later posted this photo on a remembrance website.\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Megan Turner was murdered by her mother, Lise Turner. Her father, Godfrey, later posted this photo on a remembrance website.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Godfrey later revealed in court that he had been called home from work by a \u201cfairly hysterical\u201d Turner on several  other occasions because Megan had \u201cstopped breathing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">He said he would take Megan and give her mouth-to-mouth, and she recovered. There were never any issues with the infant when he was at home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">A pathologist ruled the tragedy a \u201ccot death of undiagnosed natural cause\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">After Megan died, Turner spent six weeks in a psychiatric ward in Christchurch. Godfrey then arranged a work transfer to Auckland, and the couple moved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">But Turner was still unwell and was admitted to Carrington Hospital \u2013 then a psychiatric facility in Pt Chevalier. <\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In 1981, she became pregnant again, and the couple relocated to Tuai, between Napier and Gisborne.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Their second daughter, Cheney Louise, was born on January 31, 1982.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She was a healthy baby, and there were no issues with her breathing.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"The grave of Lise Turner's two baby girls, murdered by their mother.\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>The grave of Lise Turner&#8217;s two baby girls, murdered by their mother.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">On March 15, Godfrey came home from work for lunch and said Cheney seemed \u201cperfectly normal\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">But that afternoon, he received a panicked call from one of Turner\u2019s friends telling him to come home immediately.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">When he arrived, 44-day-old Cheney was lying lifeless on the kitchen table with blood and vomit around her mouth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Her death was also put down to cot death \u2013 now known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which refers to cases where, after investigation, no cause of death is found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In 1983, Turner left Godfrey. He was having an affair with the wife of a work colleague, whom he and Turner had moved to live with in Napier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">He told Turner he did not want to marry her, and she returned to Christchurch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In March 1984, she moved into a flat with her new partner, Richard \u201cDick\u201d Ashley, on Hereford St, next to Lauree and Kelvin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">On May 28, she murdered their 8-month-old son.<\/p>\n<p>The babysitter<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cHow we got to know her was, she kept coming over to use our phone because they didn\u2019t have the phone on,\u201d Lauree recalled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cShe was very dependent on her parents \u2013 they used to come and pick her up and take her shopping. So, she was always coming over to ring her mum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cShe used to tell me about her two daughters who had died of cot deaths \u2026 and she used to show me photos of them and talk about them all the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cShe said she was part of the cot death committee representing the South Island and that she was registered with the Department of Social Welfare as a babysitter, which was her occupation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Michael Tinnion, the murdered son of Lauree and Kelvin, had two older brothers.\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Michael Tinnion, the murdered son of Lauree and Kelvin, had two older brothers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">The day Michael died, Lauree had to pop into the city to do an errand. Her oldest son, Jeremy, was at school, and ordinarily she would have just taken baby Michael and her middle child, Chris.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">But she said Turner was \u201cquite insistent\u201d on looking after them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cHer parents had been there that morning, and her mother had said to me, \u2018Are you sure that you want Lise to look after the kids, do you think you could take them with you?\u2019\u201d Lauree said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI remember thinking that was a really strange comment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree put Michael to bed and headed off to town. Within 40 minutes, she was home \u2013 and knew something was amiss straight away.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI walked in, and she was flustering around, busy at the sink. She was quite shocked to see me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cChris was hiding under the kitchen table &#8230; and I thought that was really unusual as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThe first thing she said was, \u2018You better go and check to see if Michael\u2019s okay\u2019. And I said, \u2018I\u2019m not going to do that because it\u2019s just going to wake him up\u2019, and I remember thinking obviously she had already been in there because the window was open and I had left it closed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree said Turner got \u201chuffy\u201d and \u201cstormed down the hallway\u201d to check the baby herself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Then, all hell broke loose. Michael was not breathing. There was blood on his pillow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree panicked and called 111.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Michael Tinnion was the third baby Lise Turner suffocated to death.\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Michael Tinnion was the third baby Lise Turner suffocated to death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThe ambulance arrived, and the paramedics were in with Michael \u2013 so I didn\u2019t think anything was untoward,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI was only 20 years old. I was just a kid myself, really, and never experienced anything like this before \u2026 I didn\u2019t think he was going to die, or that he had died.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI remember one of the ambulance men came out and asked me who my GP was, and they rang him. I thought it was a good thing they\u2019d called the doctor in \u2026 but I didn\u2019t realise it was to pronounce that Michael died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Turner was with Lauree when the doctor broke the terrible news.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cHe told me that Michael would pass, and at the same time, Lise was saying, \u2018Oh, I know you, you\u2019re my mother\u2019s doctor,\u2019 and was trying to be really chatty and friendly,\u201d she remembered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cLise was on a high. She was so hyped up \u2026 she actually talked about having to go to jazzercise that evening to get rid of some of her energy. The doctor actually testified at her trial that he found it really bizarre behaviour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cA friend of hers arrived to visit while everything was happening, and she said, \u2018You\u2019ve come at a really bad time \u2026 the baby next door has just died of cot death\u2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cKelvin, who had never, ever liked her, was suspicious straight away. And then when my father arrived, he and my husband talked quite a bit about \u2018something\u2019s not right here\u2019 \u2013 but I was too captured in my grief.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThen, the next morning, there was a knock at the door, and there was a whole lot of police standing there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Turner\u2019s crimes unravel<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree and Kelvin were taken to the police station to make statements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThey kept saying \u2018we can\u2019t be sure \u2013 but we\u2019re suspicious\u2019,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThey weren\u2019t really telling us that much. And it was so awkward having her right next door. We arranged for the police to interview her at the time of the funeral so that she wouldn\u2019t turn up. We came home to a sympathy card from her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThen Kelvin and my parents felt it would be a really good idea if we went to stay with an aunty and uncle and just have some time away. We went, and it was about 10 days later that we got a call from one of the police to say that they charged her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\" Lise Turner during a court appearance in Christchurch. Photo \/ 60 Minutes\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/> Lise Turner during a court appearance in Christchurch. Photo \/ 60 Minutes<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree described the news as \u201ca mix of disbelief, but also relief\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI did not believe that Michael died of cot death \u2013 I just could not get a grip on that, so it was such a relief to know that there was an answer, but total disbelief in how it all happened,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI just remember not feeling anything, just being really numb.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Turner appeared in the Christchurch District Court charged with murdering baby Michael by suffocating him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree said that after the hearing, police revealed they also suspected Turner had killed her two daughters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWe were pretty much told straight away \u2026 that there may be others that were involved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThey started telling us about other near deaths \u2026 that this could have been going on for quite some time. And then things started getting bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In August 1984, police charged Turner with murdering Megan and Cheney by deliberate suffocation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She was also charged with the attempted murder of three other babies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Three days before she gave birth to Cheney, Turner had attempted to kill the 8-month-old daughter of Godfrey\u2019s colleague.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Turner was looking after the baby while her mother went to the doctor. She called an ambulance, claiming that when she went to check on the baby, she was bleeding from the nose and struggling to breathe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">When the baby arrived at the hospital, she was described as \u201calert and bright\u201d, and doctors could find nothing wrong with her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She was never left alone with Turner again and never had any further breathing issues.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Coverage of Turner's trial in The Press in 1984.\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Coverage of Turner&#8217;s trial in The Press in 1984.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In October 1982, Turner targeted the 4-month-old daughter of the couple she and Godfrey were living with in Napier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">The first incident happened when the baby\u2019s mother, who was having an affair with Godfrey, went shopping.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She was only gone for 15 minutes. When she checked on the baby, she found her bleeding from the mouth and making grunting noises. Her face was covered in blood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">An ambulance was called, and the baby was rushed to hospital. Doctors could not work out what had caused her issues \u2013 there were no abnormalities and she recovered  quickly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Over the next six months, the baby suffered several  similar attacks. Turner was present every time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Eventually, a doctor asked to speak to everyone present when the baby fell ill. The court later heard Turner \u201creacted wildly\u201d and was very reluctant to see the doctor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She was not left alone with the child after that, and the attacks stopped.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In June 1983, after Turner returned to Christchurch, she was asked to babysit a friend\u2019s 5-week-old daughter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She asked a male friend to join her and, during the night, checked on the newborn and told him \u201cthe baby is sick\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">The man went to check on the baby and found her lying in her cot with vomit on her face. She was pale, cold and clammy.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Lauree Ashworth has tried to keep every story published about her baby and his killer, including this article from when Lise Turner was released from prison on parole. Photo \/ Anna Leask\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Lauree Ashworth has tried to keep every story published about her baby and his killer, including this article from when Lise Turner was released from prison on parole. Photo \/ Anna Leask<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">When the baby\u2019s parents arrived home, they took her to hospital. Doctors suspected she had pneumonia and she was treated with oxygen, intravenous fluids and antibiotics and made a rapid recovery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">They later ruled pneumonia out. Turner was not left alone with the girl again and she remained completely healthy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Turner pleaded not guilty to all six charges and went on trial in November 1984.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">After hearing evidence for eight days, a jury took just three hours to find Turner guilty on all counts. She reportedly sobbed and howled when the verdicts were read in court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She was sentenced to life in prison and served 13 years behind bars before she was released on parole.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Turner died in September 2023 from a combination of heart failure, cognitive impairment and epilepsy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She was 68 and living in a Waikanae retirement home at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Michael: gone but never forgotten<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree has never recovered from the death of her son.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cMichael was happy, healthy \u2026 he was so placid, you know, a really good baby,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI only ever left my children with people I knew and trusted. And I knew and I trusted her. And who would have ever thought that would ever happen in 40 minutes?<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWhenever I think back to Michael, I feel grief and loss \u2026 I was always sad, but I had to stay strong, especially for Kelvin. And he was always angry and hurt and in pain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree can remember every moment of the day her baby was killed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cIt\u2019s always there, like I live with it every single day.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\" Lauree Ashworth has kept years of clippings and information about her son's death \u2013 and his killer. Photo \/ Anna Leask\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/> Lauree Ashworth has kept years of clippings and information about her son&#8217;s death \u2013 and his killer. Photo \/ Anna Leask<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree and Kelvin eventually separated, and she has been remarried for more than 22 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">No matter what has changed in her family, Michael\u2019s memory has never been left behind.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWe talk about Michael as part of the family, his photo is always there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cFour kids born since him \u2013 and they know all about him. He has never, ever been a forgotten part of our life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cKelvin and I have been apart for many years, but we\u2019ve still got that connection. He\u2019s the only one that knows what we experienced. He\u2019s the only one that I can share that with, and we talk every birthday, every anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In the lead-up to Turner\u2019s parole hearings, Lauree was allowed to write to her in prison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She sent several letters hoping to get answers about her baby\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In one reply, Turner said she had been seeing a forensic psychiatrist and she had been able to identify why she killed Michael, Megan and Cheney.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She did not elaborate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThis is something that was never discussed within the trial, and the question \u2018why\u2019 has lived with me \u2026 I would be grateful if you could share that with me so I can piece together the jigsaw that is within my head and understand more fully why it is that my baby isn\u2019t able to be here as a teenager today,\u201d Lauree wrote.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Michael Tinnion was a much-loved son and brother.\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Michael Tinnion was a much-loved son and brother.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Turner never really answered the question.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI\u2019ve heard every excuse under the sun from her,\u201d Lauree said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cShe said at some point she was jealous of Michael \u2026 In her [trial] testimony, she said she stubbed her toe or something like that, and that triggered everything.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI don\u2019t believe that. She had it all set up. Why did she ring the friend and say, come over at this specific time? You know, it was so planned. Why was her mother worried about her, you know, her looking after him? Yeah. It was, yes. Why was she so insistent that I leave Chris and Michael at home?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Lauree and Kelvin were also allowed to visit Turner in prison before she was released.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWe were allowed to ask her anything we wanted,\u201d Lauree said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI wanted to know the nitty-gritty things like, did you have that plan that day?<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThat was a significant day for me. Before that, she\u2019d always held the power in my memories and in my life. But that day I felt a shift \u2013 a shift that we were the ones in power and she was not.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI\u2019ve heard lots of victims talk about how they found this inner peace and all of that when they were able to forgive, that\u2019s bullsh*t. You can never, ever forgive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI think what helped me was when I learned to accept that it happened. And that\u2019s a lot different to forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Turner\u2019s deadly confession<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In a newspaper interview after her release, Turner spoke briefly about her offending.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI loved my babies. It was a terrible tragedy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t me then \u2026 it wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">In court, a detailed statement Turner gave police was read, in which she confessed to smothering Michael with a pillow after experiencing \u201cflashbacks\u201d about Megan and Cheney.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She claimed that as a teenager she \u201cgot involved in drugs and bad company\u201d, worked as a prostitute and attempted suicide three times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She also told police she had suffered several miscarriages and was the victim of domestic violence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI took LSD pills and morphine and got a drug habit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI had a gutsful of life, and that is why I came back to Christchurch to live.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\" Michael Tinnion was a happy and healthy baby boy.\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/> Michael Tinnion was a happy and healthy baby boy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She told police about Megan\u2019s birth \u2013 a difficult 24-hour labour and caesarean section.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cIt was good and I was very happy to have a child at last. I had had 12 pregnancies without a child and finally I had one, she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWhen she died &#8230; I had a complete mental breakdown. It was diagnosed as a cot death, and I was admitted to hospital for depression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">When Cheney was born, Turner said she \u201chad a drinking problem and went through depression\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cBut not as severely as when Megan died. Six weeks after Cheney was born, she died, and it was later put down to a cot death. I was in shock at her death, but it was not as bad as I had been with Megan,\u201d her statement said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Turner revealed she had a hysterectomy soon after leaving Godfrey and returning to Christchurch. She was also back under the care of a psychologist due to her upset over the breakup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cl do not recall at any stage hurting any of the children I have talked about. I have smacked or have been given permission to smack children whom I babysat for \u2013 but have never hurt the babies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI love children, especially babies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She said she \u201crealised\u201d that \u201cfive\u201d children in her care \u2013 her daughters and the three little girls she was convicted of attempting to murder \u2013 \u201chad problems\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI have no explanation to make about these incidents,\u201d she told police.<\/p>\n<p><img  alt=\"Michael Tinnion was a beautiful little boy who was always smiling.\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Michael Tinnion was a beautiful little boy who was always smiling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She said she loved her daughters and denied deliberately ending their lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">When the detective interviewing her encouraged her to \u201ccome to grips\u201d with her actions and \u201cclear her conscience\u201d, she broke down crying and confessed to Michael\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI did it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI killed Michael by putting the pillow over his face. I don\u2019t know why I did it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI wasn\u2019t feeling right. I cannot point out how I felt in my own words. I got some flashbacks \u2013 flashbacks of my own kids and was feeling depressed. I was thinking of them when they were alive. I kept seeing my daughter, Megan, in her coffin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI was sitting on Lauree\u2019s bed crying and something happened. I think I bumped my knee or something and got angry. Something triggered me off. The next thing I found myself in Michael\u2019s room.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI can remember picking up Michael\u2019s pillow. He was half lying on it. Then I just put it across his face. Different things were going through my mind \u2013 thoughts of my own babies and the breakup with Godfrey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cI don\u2019t know how long I held the pillow on his face. Michael was lying on his back. I can\u2019t remember him moving when I was doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">She said that as she held the pillow on the baby\u2019s face, she was thinking, \u201cWhy should they have kids?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Turner\u2019s case will also feature in an upcoming episode of the Herald podcast <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/topic\/a-moment-in-crime\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/topic\/a-moment-in-crime\/\">A Moment In Crime.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"npuzLaxKHxgCDhG\" style=\"display:none\">Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 20 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on <a href=\"http:\/\/nzherald.co.nz\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Ctrl + Click to open http:\/\/nzherald.co.nz in a new tab\" target=\"_blank\">nzherald.co.nz<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lauree Ashworth remembers every minute of the day her son was murdered. When she left her Christchurch house,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[205345,74,95,29893,6794,205340,205342,6129,634,8532,17309,11784,4532,42,14235,9093,205341,3523,5494,205344,14771,30510,61390,43,2847,97996,196336,21413,115243,18916,115029,205346,40,38,41,39,12628,9438,413,13016,5619,205343,1530],"class_list":{"0":"post-397442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-8monthold","9":"tag-after","10":"tag-and","11":"tag-authorities","12":"tag-baby","13":"tag-babysitter","14":"tag-cotdeath","15":"tag-crimes","16":"tag-death","17":"tag-ended","18":"tag-exposed","19":"tag-fatal","20":"tag-grief","21":"tag-headlines","22":"tag-killer","23":"tag-lies","24":"tag-lise","25":"tag-medical","26":"tag-michael","27":"tag-misplaced","28":"tag-missed","29":"tag-mothers","30":"tag-murderer","31":"tag-news","32":"tag-only","33":"tag-pattern","34":"tag-plain","35":"tag-serial","36":"tag-shielded","37":"tag-sight","38":"tag-socalled","39":"tag-tinnion","40":"tag-top-news","41":"tag-top-stories","42":"tag-topnews","43":"tag-topstories","44":"tag-tragedy","45":"tag-trust","46":"tag-turner","47":"tag-turners","48":"tag-uncertainty","49":"tag-unending","50":"tag-years"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}