4 shocking details about the case

Publish date: 2024-06-07

Dateline: Unforgettable's new episode, titled The Dead of the Night, will entail the shocking 2015 murder case of single mother LaJoya McCoy. The episode will provide a deeper insight into the vents that lead up to her death. The Dead of the Night premieres on August 2, 2023, at 8 pm ET, exclusively on Oxygen.

The official synopsis of the episode, as per IMDb, reads:

"A mother of two vanishes in Monrovia, Calif.; as detectives investigate, the woman's loved ones reveal that she feared she was being stalked; for Josh Mankiewicz, cases like these are all too familiar, and that's a tragedy he just can't shake."

On the night of June 9, 2015, LaJoya was reported missing by her family. She had not shown up for work or returned any calls. The police, upon investigating, were not able to find any explanation for LaJoya's sudden disappearance and had hoped that she might turn up in a day or two.

However, on June 16, 2023, almost about a week after her disappearance, LaJoya McCoy's body was found in a car parked in Monrovia, California.

She was discovered in a pool of blood and sustained numerous gruesome injuries to her neck. There were no obvious suspects in the case and the crime scene had been so chaotic that the police were not able to piece together what had happened.

The investigation into LaJoya's murder case quickly turned into a mystery.

However, due to the persistent efforts of the investigators on the case for years, numerous shocking truths about McCoy's life came to light and the police were finally able to convict the murderer.

4 chilling details about LaJoya McCoy's murder case

1) LaJoya McCoy's manner of death was ruled to be a homicide

LaJoya McCoy (Image via Yahoo)

LaJoya McCoy's body was found in her car, which was parked in the 200 block of West Cypress Avenue in Monrovia, California. She had sustained numerous stab wounds. The cause of her death was determined to be strangulation, and the manner of death was ruled to be a homicide.

The body was found by a passerby who noticed the car parked on the side of the road. The car was unlocked, and LaJoya's body was found in the driver's seat. She was partially clothed, and there had been signs of struggle in the car.

The police investigation also determined that LaJoya had been killed on the day of her disappearance. She had been strangled with a rope and then stabbed multiple times in the neck, chest, and abdomen.

2) A bloodstained note was found in LaJoya's vehicle

LaJoya and Jose with her parents (Image via Yahoo)

The Cinemaholic reveals that a bloodstained note was found in the vehicle LaJoya's body was discovered. It was through this note that the police were able to discover that someone had been stalking and harassing LaJoya in the weeks leading up to her death.

The forensic evidence on the note also proved to be very beneficial as it was revealed to have been of LaJoya's boyfriend Jose Roberto Turner.

In addition, the DNA evidence found under her fingernails also matched Jose's which led him to become the prime suspect in the case.

3) LaJoya McCoy was a victim of domestic violence

LaJoya McCoy (Image via IMDb)

Upon further investigation into Jose and LaJoya's relationship, the police discovered that the pair had been previously married for ten years.

However, just two years prior to the murder, the pair had split, a decision that Jose was reportedly not happy about. It was revealed that the reason for the split was due to Jose being physically and mentally abusive towards LaJoya.

In retaliation, he had reportedly stalked and harassed her and had also threatened to kill her if she did not get back with him. Witnesses also claimed that Jose showed possessive tendencies and stalker-like behavior when LaJoya was with other men.

On top of that, the police found Jose's journal entries where he had written about wanting to kill her and how he would do it just before he committed the actual murder.

4) Jose Turner was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison

Jose Turner (Image via Dateline)

Due to the overwhelming DNA evidence found against Jose Turner and numerous friends and family members of LaJoya's coming forward to provide their testimony against him, he was eventually detained and imprisoned.

In the eventual legal proceedings that followed the case, Turner was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to 26 years to life in prison.

He continues to serve his sentence today.

Dateline: Unforgettable's new episode, The Dead of the Night, premieres on Oxygen on August 2, 2023, at 8 pm ET.

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