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Background: News footage of the street where Seth Wallace was killed (WHSV). Insets (top, left to right): Dustin Dove and Kaylee Turner (Wayneboro Police Department). Inset (bottom): Seth Wallace (GoFundMe).
On the same day her boyfriend received a life sentence for murder, a Virginia woman pleaded guilty to her role in the same crime.
Kaylee Turner, 21, entered a plea of guilty to first-degree murder as a principal in the second-degree on Friday afternoon, just hours after her boyfriend, 24-year-old Dustin Dove, was given a life sentence for murdering 22-year-old Seth Wallace. As Law&Crime previously reported, Dove was convicted of killing Wallace when he believed that Wallace had been “inappropriate” with his girlfriend — Turner — while Dove was in jail.
Before the May 2024 shooting, Dove and Wallace had been best friends.
The friendship between Dove and Wallace began in 2022 but went sour when Dove was convicted of drug charges in early 2024. Turner told Dove about Wallace”s purported behavior towards her, and the two men began engaging in a series of hostile texts.
A digital forensics expert read the messages aloud in court, WHSV reported, with the messages including, “Dog, I’m going to destroy you” and “I’m going to get away with it.” At some point, Dove was even said to have recorded videos wearing a mask and holding the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting.
According to Dove’s defense attorney, Wallace told Turner that Dove was “manipulating” her by saying Dove was cheating on her.
In the early morning hours of May 25, 2024, Turner and Dove exchanged texts that indicated that they were going to go to a location where they knew Wallace would be. Investigators said that Turner drove herself and Dove to Wallace’s location after telling him that she was on her way.
At 4:17 a.m., Wallace called Turner, but it was not known if the call was ever answered. According to investigators, Wallace was shot between 4:18 a.m. and 4:20 a.m. Later that morning, Turner texted Wallace, “Help, he has me at gunpoint,” in an attempt to cover up her involvement in the shooting.
Wallace died from infections caused by nine gunshot wounds two weeks after he was shot.
Months after Wallace died, Dove is said to have written a rap song and sung it over a jail telephone line, with phrases including, “I don’t duck murders” and “He was my best friend, now he’s dead meat.”
According to courtroom coverage by the Staunton News Leader, Turner apologized at her sentencing, saying, “I’m very sorry. I apologize for my actions in this situation.”
The outlet reported that Judge Paul Dryer was not happy with the plea deal, saying Turner did not seem to show remorse for her actions. Turner was sentenced to an active prison term of 11 years and six months, with 18 years and six months suspended, plus five years probation. If she violates probation, she may be required to be incarcerated for the full 30-year sentence.