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Anthony Duwayne Turner

Industry Spotlight > Broker Dealers

New Pretrial Date for Ex-Broker Charged With Murder of BofA-Merrill Exec

By Dinah Wisenberg Brin

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A pretrial conference for ex-broker Anthony Duwayne Turner, charged with murdering Bank of America-Merrill executive Michelle Avan, his former girlfriend and colleague, has been been continued to Feb. 8, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

The conference, which had been set for Jan. 4, is scheduled for next month at the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Van Nuys Courthouse West, Dept. G, according to the court’s calendar.

Turner has pleaded not guilty to murder, forcible rape and first-degree residential burglary in Avan’s Aug. 3, 2021, slaying, according to the DA’s spokesperson. The former broker was arrested two days after Avan was killed, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records (case number XNWLA095328-01).

Turner was released a few days later after posting $2 million bail, the Los Angeles Police Department and a spokesperson for the DA’s office told ThinkAdvisor at the time.

His attorney didn’t respond to an email from ThinkAdvisor this week seeking comment.

Avan had been promoted to a new role shortly before she was killed. Her LinkedIn profile indicates Avan was a Merrill Lynch managing director for nearly 23 years, then became Bank of America senior vice president, Head of Global Women’s and Under-represented Talent Strategy Global Human Resources in June 2021.

Prosecutors allege Turner entered Avan’s home on Aug. 3, 2021, killed her and left the following day. He had been a registered broker with Merrill since 2004, and in 2019 his registration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority moved to BofA Securities, where he was engaged as a broker when arrested, according to FINRA’s BrokerCheck.

More recently, court records (case number LAXSA108507-01) indicate Turner was arrested July 7, 2023, on the charge of “Injuring a Spouse, Cohabitant, Fiance’s, Boyfriend, Girlfriend or Child’s Parent;” a preliminary hearing setting in that matter is scheduled for Jan. 16 at the Airport Courthouse. Online court information includes no details of that case.

Credit: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office

Dinah Wisenberg Brin

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