The two Plainfield residents charged with concealing a homicide and dismembering a human body allegedly told the victim’s brother what they had done, according to court documents.
Robin Turner, 62, and 26-year-old James Adams remain in custody pending charges in connection with the death and dismemberment of Turner’s 38-year-old husband, Dalewayne Turner. Adams is Dalewayne Turner’s half brother.
Will County prosecutors Monday filed motions seeking to deny pretrial release for Turner and Adams. Hearings on both motions are scheduled for later this week.
“James Adams along with Robin Turner took extreme measures to cover-up the killing and then further measures in an attempt to hide Dalewayne’s body,” Will County prosecutors argued in their motion, adding that neither called police about Dalewayne’s death.
Those steps included using bleach to clean and cover up the smell, removing rugs, repainting the home, and removing wood panels and burning them in a fire pit, prosecutors said in their motion.
Prosecutors also suggested the two present a danger to Dalewayne’s brother, who called police after the duo confessed to him.
Attorneys for Adams and Turner declined to comment after Monday’s court appearance.
On June 28, boaters noticed part of a human arm with “distinct tattoos” in Lake Mattoon in east-central Illinois, according to the Illinois State Police. According to prosecutors’ motion seeking to deny pretrial release, police discovered the victim’s torso and head July 1 inside a freezer located in the Turners’ Plainfield residence, where Adams also so lived. The freezer was taped shut and covered with a blanket, according to the motion.
Police were tipped off to the freezer by Turner’s brother, records show.
Turner’s brother called police June 30, after Adams and Robin Turner allegedly told him what they did to Dalewayne, according to court documents.
The brother told investigators he had recently moved into the Plainfield home, located in the 2400 block of Ruth Fitzgerald Drive, and that he had traveled with Adams and Robin Turner to Indiana on June 30 to purchase fireworks. When they returned home, Adams paused a television show the three were watching so he and Robin Turner could tell him what they had done days earlier, according to court records.
They told Dalewayne’s brother that Dalewayne became physically violent and that Adams grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Dalewayne several times, according to court documents.
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The brother told investigators Adams and Robin Turner told him they were unsure what to do with the remains, so they put Dalewayne’s body in the freezer located in the home’s basement. They also told him they dismembered Dalewayne’s body and took “several body parts” to a lake.
The brother told investigators when he heard the information, he hugged Adams, walked outside and called 911.
According to a motion seeking to deny pretrial release, Adams only made one statement after his arrest.
“The one thing I will say is that I did it, but I did it out of self defense. I will tell you guys that,” Adams reportedly told investigators, according to the motion.
In May 2025, a Will County judge granted Adams’ request for an order of protection against Dalewayne Turner. In his petition, Adams said that Turner left a voicemail threatening to kill him and telling Adams he “can’t hide from him.” Adams claimed Turner had PTSD and had laid hands on him before.
“He’s a violent, dangerous person,” Adams wrote in his petition.
Will County Judge Theodore Jarz granted the order and set a May 2027 court date to review the matter. As part of the order, Adams was allowed to stay in the Plainfield residence and Dalewayne Turner was to stay away from Adams and not have any communication with him. A court document also indicates he was to remain at least 50 feet away from Adams at all times.
In their motion seeking to deny pretrial release, prosecutors said Robin Turner allegedly told investigators that Adams and her husband had an argument on June 21 about sports cards. She told investigators that she left during the argument to go visit her mother and that at some point Adams called her and said he was leaving. When she called Dalewayne, he told her he was going to stay with a friend in Kankakee.
She told investigators that Dalewayne was gone when she returned home, but said she smelled a “faint odor of bleach” in the house but told investigators she believed it was because Adams had cleaned the floors.
She also told investigators she had purchased the freezer on June 19 to replace a broken freezer and that she and Adams purchased fence posts and concrete to replace a fence around the property. Investigators noted they discovered weighed-down bins with body parts in Lake Mattoon.
Court documents also outlined a text exchange the morning of June 22 between Adams and Robin Turner where they discuss where to purchase a dolly and if they need carpet cleaner. At the end of the text exchange, Robin Turner texts that she will have to keep “pouring bleach if it starts to smell a bit funny” and warns Adams to “be sure to fully delete everything.”
According to court records, investigators also found Google searches on Robin Turner’s phone on topics including what types of medications can cause overdoses, a search for chest freezers, how long it takes a turkey to freeze, how to divorce someone who can’t be found and if spoiled meat can stink.
Court documents indicate Robin Turner filed for an emergency order of protection in May of last year, but the matter was dropped when neither side showed for a court hearing.