MILTON, Fla. (Court TV) — A petty officer in the U.S. Navy faces a potential life sentence if she is convicted of murdering her husband while he was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher.
Bree Kristen Kuhn is charged with the homicide of Collin James Turner. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)
Chief Petty Officer Bree Kristen Kuhn, 37, is charged with the first-degree premeditated murder of her husband, Collin James Turner. Kuhn admitted to shooting and killing Turner on Sept. 8, 2021, but told officers that she was acting in self-defense.
Investigators said there were three calls to 911 from the couple’s Gulf Breeze home on Sept. 8 over six hours in the afternoon. Kuhn placed the first call and Turner placed the second two calls, all reporting the couple was arguing about their three children.
In the last call, Turner told the dispatcher that Kuhn had locked him in the garage. Police said there was an audible gunshot, followed by Turner saying, “She just shot me.” After three more gunshots, the line was silent. When officers arrived, Turner was dead from four gunshot wounds.
Kuhn told the first officers who arrived at the scene, “I shot him. … I just shot my husband.” While she readily admitted to firing the shots, she told detectives that Turner had wanted to take the kids and leave, and she was blocking him from entering the home. She said that Turner had kicked her foot, prompting her to open fire.
“Based on the circumstances and the physical evidence, that would indicate this was a conscious decision to kill,” State Attorney Mark Alderman said about the decision to charge Kuhn with first-degree murder.
On June 8, 2024, Kuhn’s attorney filed a notice of intent to rely on a battered spouse syndrome defense. Her attorney also filed a motion on Sept. 11, 2024, asking the judge to bar the prosecution or any of its witnesses from using the word “victim” to describe Turner.
DAILY TRIAL UPDATES
DAY 3 – 9/26/24
- Jurors heard from three state rebuttal witnesses.
- A deputy with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office testified to bodycam video that showed deputies responding to the home after Bree Kuhn called 911 on the day of the incident.
- Hardy Joiner, Bree Kuhn’s ex and father of her daughter, testified to texts he had exchanged with the victim about Kuhn on the day of the incident.
DAY 2 – 9/25/24
- The State rested their case before noon with jurors hearing from the Medical Examiner about the cause and manner of death.
- The Defense called one witness in their case-in-chief, Bree Kuhn’s brother.
- The Defense announced she would be the next witness and testify in her own defense. However, mid-way thru the colloquy she changed her mind and it took about an hour of her conferring with her attorneys to make it official that she would not be testifying.
- Dr. Deanna Oleske, Medical Examiner, takes the stand.
- Dr. Oleske details the four gunshot wounds to Collin Tuner; all entered through his back and exited through his chest.
- Bree Kuhn emotionally tells investigators during a police interview that she shot and killed her husband in self-defense after locking him out of the house.
DAY 1 – 9/24/24
- The jury hears opening statements.
- The jury was shown bodycam footage of two of the three 911 calls made on the day of the shooting.
- Multiple neighbors and investigators took the stand, including Kuhn’s supervisor.
- While seemingly in shock, Bree Kuhn admitted to shooting and killing her husband, Collin Turner, while being detained but told officers that she was acting in self-defense.
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