ATLANTA — The body of Almond Turner, the former Covington assistant police chief, church deacon and Newton County School Board member, was returned home with a police escort on Friday afternoon.
His body arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta from Meridian, Mississippi, where he was killed last weekend at a family function, allegedly by his nephew.
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Multiple law enforcement agencies, including Covington Police, the Newton County Sheriff's Office, and Georgia State Patrol, returned Turner's body home to Covington in tribute.
A candlelight vigil was held at Covington Square later that evening.
Turner's funeral is set for Monday at 11 a.m. at Springfield Baptist Church in Conyers. In lieu of flowers, his family is asking for donations to be made to the Covington Police Who Care Fund.
Turner was well-known, loved and respected in his community, as a former assistant police chief, church deacon and Newton County School Board member, according to community members. He was also chief of security at a Conyers church.
He leaves behind his wife, three kids and several grandchildren.
The circumstances surrounding have shocked his family and the Covington community.
"I’m still speechless over how this happened," his son, Dwahn Turner, said. "In our lifetime, we’ve never experienced this type of tragedy with my father.”
Police said Turner's nephew, Christopher Denson, allegedly shot him at the family gathering. Dwahn didn't want to go into details about the murder; it's too painful for his family. His mother lost her life-long partner.
"They been together almost 50 years, and known each other since they were seven and nine," he explained. "He’s all she’s ever known.”
Dwahn is trying to remember his father's greatest lessons.
“Love your loved ones hard. Don’t be apologetic about it, just love them hard. You’ll never know when the last time will be," he said.
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