Durham couple slain at SC resort remembered for generosity

Dickie Smith, an employee of Mayo Marina Mart, at 8731 Virgilina Road, Roxboro, said Steven Gray Turner, 61, and Carrie Daley Turner, 52, treated him well during the four years they owned the store.

"I thought the world of them. "(Carrie) has always treated me right. I can't say nothing bad about them," Smith said Tuesday. "When they sold the place, she took me out to dinner, bought me dinner, me and my wife. And she gave me a check for $1,000. You can't beat that."

Smith said he's still struggling to process their deaths.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet. I'm pretty sure within the days to come I'm going to break down, because I thought so much of them," Smith said.

The Turners, who lived in Durham, were found shot inside their room Friday night at the Landmark Resort, at 1501 Ocean Blvd.

Alexander Gray Turner, their 23-year-old son, is charged with two counts of murder and a count of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Alexander Turner's girlfriend, Chelsi Leila Griffin, 19, of Conway, S.C., was also charged with murder in the case.

Smith said Alexander Turner's life had "got sort of sidetracked."

"Things went this way and that way for him, but you know, I hate to say bad things about him," Smith said. "(Carrie and Steven) had put him in rehab, but I don't know."

According to the affidavit for his arrest, Alexander Turner, who had been living in Conway, S.C., tried to extend his parents' reservation for room 1208, but when his request was denied, he and a companion left the property.

Shortly afterward, the bodies of his parents were found in the room.

Police said Alexander Turner was using both a credit card and a Kia Optima belonging to his parents as investigators were processing the crime scene.

Both Alexander Turner and Chelsi Griffin had a first appearance on the charges Monday. Alexander Turner was arrested last week in Surfside Beach, S.C., for unlawful carrying of a pistol and drug paraphernalia.

Two others, Grant Anthony Dollens, of Columbia, S.C., and Roxanna Lisa Cumpan, of Pottsown, Pa., were charged with accessory after the fact in the case.