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Former St. Charles man gets 17 years for beating, shooting at wife

A former St. Charles man who severely beat his wife in spring 2016 and fired five shots as she ran away was sentenced Friday to 17 years in prison.

A Kane County jury convicted Scott J. Turyna, 67, of aggravated discharge of a firearm, reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravate domestic battery after a five-day trial in late January but found him not guilty of attempted murder.

After a lengthy sentencing hearing, Judge D.J. Tegeler said Turyna not only brutally beat his wife, who was recovering from cancer at the time, but also endangered the public when he shot in a suburban neighborhood before being disarmed.

"He fired five times with no regard for anybody else who was there," Tegeler said, noting Turyna had no criminal record but his actions warranted prison. "In this case, it is the crime itself, total disregard for human beings except himself. This is a case that can never reoccur, ever."

Turyna must serve 85 percent of his sentence, or about 14½ years. He also must pay restitution just over $15,000 to his now-former wife for counseling and other expenses, and was fined $45,000 for all three felony convictions.

According to trial testimony, Turyna attacked his wife at their east side St. Charles after dinner on May 3, 2016. He went to their kitchen grab a gun and she ran outside, falling at the end of the driveway near St. Charles District 303 school board President Steve Spurling and his wife, Diane, who were walking their dog.

The woman, bruised and bloodied, told the Spurlings that Turyna was trying to kill her and had a gun. Turyna emerged from the garage, said she had fallen and wanted her to come back inside.

The two woman began to walk away, and Turyna starting shooting. Steve Spurling chopped down on Turyna's arm, dislodging the gun, and detained him until police arrived. No one was hit, but a bullet was lodged the porch of a neighborhood home.

Turyna's ex-wife testified Friday that she still lives in fear, her family has been destroyed and, in hindsight, she realized how controlling and demeaning he'd been in their marriage.

"Over time, you believe it and I changed to please him. During my illness with (bladder) cancer, I found my voice again," said the woman, who suffered a concussion, severe hematoma and a broken shoulder, nose and finger. "Although my injuries have healed, I am left with painful reminders of that evening."

Turyna, wearing an orange jumpsuit, turned to his ex-wife and apologized to her, said he still loved her, but he did not address the shooting. "It's my fault, not hers. I take full responsibility," he said. "No man should ever hit a woman."

Defense attorney Robert Motta noted testimony from Turyna's mother and niece, who said he was a caring provider and affectionate husband and father.

"My client during the course of his life, has been a good man," Robert Motta said. "It was an isolated five-minute nightmare for all involved.

Assistant State's Attorney Greg Sams stressed that Turyna had been abusive to his first wife and after the guilty verdict was still blaming the victim. "The defendant beat his wife savagely because she 'had it coming,' she was 'nagging him,'" Sams argued. "Those were not shots in the air."

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