Man Connected To Toddler's Death Gets 20-Year Prison Sentence [UPDATE]

AUSTIN, TX -- Michael Turner has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection to the death of adoptive, two-2-year-old son in 2014.

Turner, 30, plead guilty to a trio of charges related to toddler Colton Turner’s death: Reckless injury to a child by omission and two charges of tampering with evidence, KVUE-TV reports. He initially had been booked in the county jail on a charge of injury to a child.

Turner and Meagan Work, the boy’s mother, came under suspicion after the toddler’s body was found in a shallow grave in southeast Austin. The pair initially reported the boy as missing.

Later, the two admitted to buying the boy in September 2014 after they said he had died from a seizure.

The details of the case garnered national attention, prompting the passage of “Colton’s Law” enacted by the Texas Legislature. The measure was passed to give law enforcement to names of children and their parents under supervision by Child Protective Services.

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From Feb. 23:

AUSTIN, TX -- Michael Turner -- accused of tampering with evidence related to a toddler’s death -- is expected to plead guilty to felony charges this week, according to a published report.

Citing confidential sources, the Austin American-Statesman reported that Turner is likely to plead guilty to felony charges in the 2014 death of his former girlfriend’s 2-year-old son, Colton Turner.

The man, who was the child’s adoptive father, faces charges of injury to a child by omission and evidence tampering. He’s next expected to appear in court this Friday at 9 a.m. when he’ll enter a plea in Travis County State District Judge David Wahlberg’s court.

The elder Turner’s attorney declined to provide the Statesman with any details of a possible plea agreement.

The Turner case has garnered national attention centered on the state’s handling of child abuse reports, the newspaper notes in its report.

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From Feb. 22:

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX -- A man police believed is connected to the death of a toddler in 2014 was due in court Monday.

Michael Turner is expected to appear in court related to a case of tampering with physical evidence after police say he and then-girlfriend Meagan Work admitted to burying toddler Colton Turner, who was two years old at the time of his 2014 death.

Police found the boy in a shallow grave in southeast Austin, and the two adults reportedly told police the child had died after a seizure, KVUE-TV reports.