Tambra Turner appears in Cook County court

After almost 16 months on the run for a Cape Girardeau killing, Tambra T. Turner gave up without resistance when she was approached by Chicago police, a spokesman for the Chicago Police Department said Friday.

Arrested Thursday outside a home in the Calumet section of Chicago by officers of police District 5, Turner appeared Friday morning in Cook County, Ill., Circuit Court in front of Judge Israel Desierto and waived extradition, said Branch 98 clerk Betty Williams.

Turner has been a fugitive since she was charged in the death of Chabreasha Egson, who was shot in her home at 1523 N. Spanish St.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said Turner's time on the run was the longest that any local murder suspect has eluded capture since he took office more than 20 years ago.

"This is the first one that was successfully hiding out for more than a year," Swingle said.

Turner was featured on "America's Most Wanted," most recently on the program's "15 seconds of shame" segment. A tip from someone who recognized her from the show led Chicago police to the area where she was captured, said officer Michael Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the department.

Five patrol cars were stationed in the neighborhood to watch for Turner, Fitzpatrick said. They also used pod cameras for surveillance.

When Turner appeared, officers approached her and she did not resist, Fitzpatrick said. "They asked her for her name, she stated it was Tambra Turner and she was arrested."

Turner, a Sikeston, Mo., resident at the time of Egson's death, is accused of gunning down Egson over a romantic rivalry. According to a probable-cause statement by Lt. David James, commander of the Cape Girardeau-Bollinger County Major Case Squad, Turner was the estranged wife of Lloyd Gilmore and Gilmore was at the residence when police responded to the shooting. Egson had written to Gilmore while he was in jail.

Turner is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and burglary. She is also charged with property damage in another incident that took place hours before Egson was shot. Turner had come to the North Spanish Street home, knocked on the door looking for Egson and used a large tree limb to break three windows at the house, according to documents filed in that case.

The documents say that on the day before the shooting Turner told a friend that she had "caught Lloyd with another girl and she felt like killing her."At the time of the murder, police identified Turner as a suspect in part based on her blue Mustang, which witnesses reported in the area of Egson's home.

Another witness told police they were asked by a woman driving a blue Mustang for directions to North Spanish Street. The car was found in Sikeston, with a missing front bumper, which another informant said Turner told them had been damaged when driving away from Egson's home.

Turner was also wanted on a drug charge in Scott County and an assault charge in Ste. Genevieve County, but those charges have since been dropped.

Officers from the Cape Girardeau County-Bollinger County Major Case Squad flew to Chicago Thursday evening to interview Turner. She met with officers from the FBI, the Cape Girardeau Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Fitzpatrick said.

Exactly when Turner will return to Cape Girardeau County wasn't known late Friday. Capt. J.P. Mulcahy of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department said he was working to arrange transportation to bring Turner from Chicago.

At the time of her arrest, there was a $3,000 reward being offered for Turner's capture.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent Addresses:

1523 N. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.