Prosecutors: St. Charles man beat, shot at wife because she 'got out of line'
A St. Charles man accused of beating his wife and then shooting at her before being disarmed by a passer-by told police: "I did what I did because she got out of line," prosecutors said.
The attempted murder trial of Scott J. Turyna, 66, formerly of St. Charles, began Tuesday in Kane County, with Assistant State's Attorney Greg Sams outlining a May 3, 2016, episode that ended with then St. Charles District 303 board president Steve Spurling detaining Turyna until authorities arrived.
Sams told jurors Turyna pummeled his wife inside their home on the 400 block of Hunt Club Drive after an argument and then went to the kitchen to get a gun from a cabinet. Bloodied and concussed, she fled out the garage, rolling under a gap in the garage door as it seemingly took forever to open.
Once outside, she stumbled down the driveway, falling on her face. "Fortunately, she ran into the Spurlings," Sams said.
Spurling and his wife, Diane, were walking their dog at about 6:25 p.m. and came to her aid, according to trial testimony.
Steve Spurling testified Turyna's wife was terrified and said "He's gone nuts. He's trying to kill me. He did this."
Turyna emerged from the house, saying his wife fell and urging her to come back inside, according to testimony, but his wife warned that he had a gun and walked away with Diane Spurling.
Steve Spurling said he began to call 911 when he heard a shot. He looked up, and saw Turyna fire two more - his right arm moving left and right and parallel to the ground as he took aim at his wife, who was running and zigzagging.
Spurling testified he made a downward chop at Turyna's arm, dislodging the gun and taking him to the ground. Spurling threw the gun away and waited for police.
Sams said Turyna told police he did what he did because his wife got "out of line."
Defense attorney Alison Motta said in her opening statement Turyna was an attentive husband who tended to his wife as she recovered from bladder cancer. Motta said Turyna's wife, who has since divorced him, had a "continuing problem with money" but didn't elaborate and promised more details as the trial progressed.
Motta also said Turyna's wife had "some incentive" not to tell police the whole story and actually hit her face on the garage door as she tried to escape, thereby exacerbating her injuries.
Motta said her client was a skilled marksman and was firing warning shots.
"If he wanted to hit someone, he would," Motta told jurors. "It's reckless (to shoot in the air) but did he try intentionally to shoot that gun at his wife in her direction? He was just trying to scare his wife."
The trial, presided over by Judge D.J. Tegeler, is expected to run through the week. Turyna faces a minimum prison term of 26 years if convicted of attempted murder, aggravated domestic battery and aggravated discharge of a firearm.