Ion Cristian Turnagiu (12 February 1975 – 30 June 2020) was a Romanian serial killer. Initially convicted of murdering 4 people during robberies in 1993, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, but later paroled. His release became the subject of intense controversy in 2020, after he was arrested for attempting to burn a 17-year-old girl alive after dousing her with gasoline. Turnagiu was arrested again, but died from complications resulting from a suicide attempt just a month later.
Early life Turnagiu was born in Vânju Mare on 12 February 1975. He was adopted by his mother's boyfriend as a baby, with the family living a seemingly normal life. This all changed around 1986, when Turnagiu's mother abandoned the family and committed suicide shortly afterwards. He was then placed in the care of his maternal grandparents, but was unable to adapt. Turnagiu eventually dropped out of school and fled from home, wandering across the country and surviving by committing petty thefts. He would then use the stolen money on alcohol or slot machines, finding shelter in train station waiting rooms.
Murders
Thefts and murders In early 1993, shortly after his 18th birthday, Turnagiu stole a bicycle from his grandparents' home and went to visit an uncle of his living in Mehedinți County. He robbed a total of 36,000 lei in cash and valuables from the residence, as well as two property titles. He traveled by train to Timișoara, where he managed to convince an elderly man to hire him for some work at his native village of Racovița, where Turnagiu was supposed to help the man's 20-year-old pregnant daughter with the housework and plowing the fields. During the conversation, he introduced himself under an alias. On 3 March 1993, while Turnagiu was working in the fields with the other men from his employer's family, he suddenly got on the nearest tractor and started driving towards the village. Along the way, he crashed into a ditch, but managed to crawl out unharmed and run towards the house, where he intended to break into their cash drawer, steal the money, and flee. In order to break the drawer's lock, he grabbed an axe from the yard and started repeatedly hitting it, drawing the attention of his employer's daughter, who came running from the neighbor's home after hearing loud noises. When she caught him in the act, Turnagiu struck her on the head with the axe, killing her on the spot. He then stole the money, got on a bicycle left in the yard, and immediately fled the village. Turnagiu then took a train ride to Bucharest, where he stayed with his grandparents for a short period of time before fleeing again, afraid that the police were going to arrest him for some petty thefts. For the remainder of the summer, Turnagiu roamed around the country until he ended up in Bucharest again circa late September 1993, loitering around the city's Rahova neighborhood. Around that time, an elderly man who resided on Calea Rahovi started occasionally giving him some food and money out of compassion, much to the objections of his wife, who suspected that the young homeless man had bad intentions. Despite the good treatment he received from the man, Turnagiu decided to rob him once he learned that the man had recently received a large sum of money from an inheritance. On the morning of 30 September, he went to the man's house again and was welcomed in. At one point, Turnagiu excused himself and went to the bathroom, after which he started looking for the money. He was caught in the act by the wife, whereupon he grabbed a knife and started repeatedly stabbing her. He then went back to the kitchen and also stabbed to death the elderly man. After the murders, he ransacked the house for money and valuables, stealing 100,000 lei, gold jewelry, and clothing. The elderly couple's bodies were found approximately a week later.
Suicide attempt and final murder After stealing the money, Turnagiu briefly had a relationship with a ballerina, on whom he spend almost everything. The woman left him shortly afterwards, prompting Turnagiu to attempt suicide by swallowing medication on 4 October. He was found by passers-by and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with as a mood disorder. Once he recovered, Turnagiu escaped from the hospital and continued wandering around Romania. In mid-November 1993, he arrived in Drobeta-Turnu Severin, where he searched for more victims to rob. On 21 November, he was dining at a restaurant he had visited in his childhood when he accidentally came across an old schoolmate who was going to visit his brother in the army. Sensing an opportunity, he convinced the schoolmate to drink into excess and then lured him behind the train station, where Turnagiu stabbed the intoxicated man to death. He then robbed him of all his valuables and clothing, leaving the victim only in his underwear.
Arrest, trial, and imprisonment Shortly after the murder, several witnesses identified Turnagiu as the man last seen accompanying the victim prior to him being found dead. As a result, he was sought as a suspect in the case, and arrested six days later. During subsequent interrogations, he was quickly linked to three previous murders. Prior to his trial, Turnagiu was ordered to undergo a forensic psychiatric evaluation, which concluded that he had an antisocial personality disorder. Turnagiu was captured and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1994, with his original release date being set for November 2091. He served a majority of his sentence at the Drobeta-Turnu Severin Penitentiary, as well as other prisons across the country.
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