Former Cosplay Model Found Guilty Of Murder In Florida

TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains descriptions of death and abuse.

Earlier last month, a former cosplay model was convicted of second-degree murder over the death of her boyfriend in 2019.

Cosplayer Melissa Turner was accused of killing her boyfriend Matthew Trussler in Riverview, Florida back in 2019. Turner had fatally stabbed Trussler inside their home in the early morning of October 18, 2019.

A neighbor’s surveillance system captured an argument between the two around 4:31 AM and at 8:45 AM, she had called 911. Shortly afterwards, she was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

Turner had claimed that she acted in self-defense and argued, “he turned me around and he had his hands around my throat. And my right hand was sliced open and I used my left hand and I could feel the knife that he had… that’s when I picked it up because he wouldn’t stop. I thought he was going to kill me. And that’s where the stab in his back came from.”

The evidence from the neighbor’s surveillance camera captured audio of a woman’s voice saying, “I hate you”, “you stay down”, and “so f***ing die”, according to WFLA.

On February 18th last month, the jury in Hillsborough County, Florida found her guilty of second-degree murder. Turner had originally refused a plea deal that offered her a 25-year prison sentence, and she now faces a life sentence.

Turner will return to court in May for her sentence hearing.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.