Woman charged in mother's Phoenix murder

PHOENIX - The daughter of a woman found dead in her south Phoenix home last September has been arrested for her murder.

Phoenix police said after a 5 month investigation detectives were able to develop enough evidence to charge 28-year-old Kiarra Turner with the murder of her mother.

Police said that on September 17, 2011 officers responded to a home near 7th Street and Dobbins Road for a call of suspicious activity.

Police found the victim, 48-year-old Jewel Loring, deceased on a back bedroom floor. The medical examiner determined the cause of death was due to blunt/sharp trauma to the head.

The next day Kiarra called police to report her mother's purse, safe and a firearm had been stolen. She said the safe and purse were on the floor next to Loring's bed and were missing after the police finished their investigation.

A citizen found the victim's purse in a dumpster in Tempe and turned it over to police. Authorities say a surveillance camera caught Loring's vehicle traveling toward the dumpster just a few minutes after police were called to Loring's home and found her dead.

Turner was arrested on burglary charges at the time and has been in jail awaiting trial.

Since then the homicide investigation has revealed that Turner had a significant prescription pill abuse problem and had been seen consuming up to 30 to 50 pills at one time and that she has become immune to the pills' effect.

An additional charge of first-degree murder was added to Turner's charges Wednesday morning, police said.