Seduced to Slay: Why was Michael Turpin killed?

Michael Turpin, the 22-year-old accountant from Lexington, was brutally stabbed to death, wrapped in his green bathrobe and dumped in a lake at Lexington's Lakeside Golf Course by his wife's co-workers. The murder-for-hire plot was devised by Elizabeth Turpin over a $60,000 life insurance payout and difficulties in marriage.

Elizabeth Turpin was romantically involved with one of her co-workers, Karen Brown. The two allegedly discussed murdering Michael Turpin for the life insurance money on which Elizabeth was the sole beneficiary.

The upcoming Seduced to Slay episode showcases the 1986 murder-for-hire plot laid down by Elizabeth Turpin and Karen Brown. The synopsis reads:

"After a whirlwind romance at college, Michael and Elizabeth marry. But when Michael's body is found on a local golf course, the dark truth emerges."

The episode, titled Three-Ring Murder, airs on January 15, 2024, at 10 pm EST on Investigation Discovery.

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What happened to Michael Turpin? Details explored

Elizabeth Turpin reported Michael Turpin missing on the morning of February 3, 1986 and provided an oddly detailed account of her whereabouts and her suspicions to the detectives from the Lexington Police Department Homicide Unit, casting her in a suspicious light.

Later, the apartment she shared with Michael was revealed to be covered in blood, and Michael's body was recovered from the Jacobson Park Lake in Lexington's Lakeside Golf Course days later.

An autopsy of his body revealed that he had been stabbed at least 19 times in the face, neck and chest. However, most of the stab wounds were reportedly shallow, leading to his death by blood loss.

The investigation into the case revealed that Elizabeth Turpin's carefree lifestyle caused issues in her marriage to Michael, who had to allegedly embezzle money from his workplace.

Furthermore, Elizabeth was found to have an affair with her co-worker, Karen Brown. The two were also allegedly spotted sharing a kiss at a local bar, The Circus, the night Michael allegedly went missing. With information from Karen's roommates, the detectives searched her car and found it to be doused in bleach and Michael's blood.

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Why was Michael Turpin killed?

Karen Brown and Elizabeth Turpin reportedly paid another co-worker at the Superior Nissan dealership, Keith Ronald Bouchard, to kill Michael Turpin on February 2, 1986.

The investigators suspected foul play early on and considered the crime scene to be a case of homicide. The detectives from the Lexington Police Department found out from Michael's mother that he had a life insurance policy worth $60,000 wherein Elizabeth was the sole beneficiary.

Per court documents, Karen and Elizabeth had visited a bar in Lexington with Anthony Basham and Doug Elliot in January 1986. Basham had dropped the group home in his car when Elizabeth had mentioned the insurance policy Michael had obtained. Per court documents, she went on to say that she "wouldn't want to be worth that much dead to someone."

Elizabeth joked about "bumping off" Michael to "get the money" from his life insurance policy, but Karen allegedly took her seriously to suggest that she "knew somebody that could do it" for her. However, she repeated that she would contact the person only if Elizabeth wanted her to.

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Elizabeth Turpin and Karen Brown are serving life sentences and their paroles have been denied. Keith Bouchard had pleaded guilty in exchange for life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. He also testified against Turpin and Brown.