2-year old Colton Turner, a Cedar Park resident who was last seen by friends and family on July 4, 2014, was found in the woods of Southeast Austin by the Cedar Park Police Department and FBI agents on September 12, 2014. The child’s mother Meagen Work and father Michael Brandt Turner are both in Travis County Jail, with bond set at $250,000.

Colton Turner was last seen by family and friends on July 4, 2014, but friends of Meagan Work and Michael Turner did not suspect that things were amiss until the first weeks of September 2014 because both individuals conspired to keep the child’s death and illegal burial a secret.

On September 10, 2014 the Cedar Park Police Department received a call on the suspicion that Colton may have been a victim of child abuse. The Cedar Park Police Department, along with the FBI and Austin Police Department, began a search for the child on September 11, 2014.

During the search, which quickly turned into a homicide investigation, Michael Turner was interrogated by Cedar Park police detective Justin Miller. Turner revealed his and Work’s involvement in Colton’s death. The negligent father directed Miller and his team to the burial site in Southeast Austin, on Felter Lane, and told them that he and Work wrapped the child’s body in a purple blanket, and placed wood and Sheetrock over the body.

Immediately after finding Colton’s body, an outpouring of support for the child’s immediate family members flooded Travis County communities and a candlelight vigil was held over the weekend. Although immediate family members were advised by lawyers to refrain from making statements to the media, Colton Turner’s grief stricken grandmother told local news station KXAN, “We just want him brought home.”^[1]

A Go Fund Me campaign, to cover to cost of funeral and obituary services, was created on Colton Turner’s family’s behalf by Cook-Walden Davis Funeral Home in Georgetown. Over $10,000 was raised in three days.

According to Cedar Park Police Chief Sean Mannix, Michael Turner may have been remorseful during his confession but his actions are inexcusable as much as they are inhumane. “I don’t care what their excuse is, there is no excuse that we find that child buried in a field amongst piles of garbage in a shallow grave like he was just something to be thrown away,” Mannix said. “From that standpoint I believe those folks are animals.”^[2]

A homicide investigation is still underway, while both Colton Turner’s mother Meagan Work and father Michael Brandt Turner are not considered murder suspects in the his untimely death and illegal burial. If murder charges are filed against both parents, both could face a Capital Murder charge because of the victim’s age.

If you ever suspect a child is a victim of maltreatment or in any kind of danger, contact your local authorities- you may save a life.