HOUSTON Albert James Turner, the TDCJ prison guard charged in the murders of his wife and mother-in-law in Rosenberg, was arrested Friday in Concord, N.C.
Turner has been on the run since December.
Concord police said Turner was taken into custody without incident at the Carolina Mall at 12:30 p.m. Friday. He told police that he had just been dropped off by a church group that took him in after he told them he was homeless.
They said Turner was profiled by America s Most Wanted show host John Walsh Friday morning on TV, and viewers in Concord recognized the suspect as a person they d seen around town.
Police were able to positively identify Turner through fingerprint comparison.
They said he ll be handed over U.S. Marshals for transportation and extradition.
Turner is accused of fatally stabbing Keitha Frank Turner and Betty Jo Frank in front of his four children on Dec. 26, 2009, at Frank s home.
Betty Jo Frank and Keitha Frank Turner were the wife and daughter of a well-known pastor at The Church of Living Waters in Rosenberg, Dr. Gene Frank.
After the slayings, law enforcement officials launched a multi-state manhunt for Turner, thinking he might be headed to Florida, where he has family.
On Dec. 29, a fisherman found Turner s car in the Chattahoochee River in Georgia.
Officials said Turner, an Army veteran who served as a correctional officer for 19 years, had the experience and skills to survive on his own.
After the car was found, officials said they couldn t rule out suicide, but Turner s brother-in-law said he was certain Turner was still out there.
I think he will try and make it as long as he can and then surrender when he has to. I really believe that, because of who he is. He ll want to take the kids through a court case, Darren Frank said.
Darren Frank said Turner s children were living in fear that their father would return.
They re afraid that their dad is going to come back, that he is going to look for them, Darren Frank said.
Rosenberg police were shocked by the slayings, which were the first in the city in five years.
The violent crime scene that the police officers encountered, I haven t seen anything like this since I ve been here, Lt. Colin Davidson said back in December.
Police said Turner and his wife had separated right before she died.
Turner was employed with the TDCJ since 1992, first at the Darrington Unit in Brazoria County and then at the Jester Unit in Fort Bend County, TDCJ officials said.
