'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
An abandoned white Toyota at the 200 block of West Cypress Avenue, Monrovia, California containing the dead body of 31-year-old missing mother of two, LaJoya McCoy was recovered on June 16, 2015.
McCoy was a finance monitor associate at the Los Angeles Department of Public Health and mother to James and Savannah McCoy.
McCoy and Jose Roberto Turner were romantically involved in the 2000s after which they ended their relationship, but decided to co-parent James and Savannah. However, the duo had to split ways in 2013 as their relationship kept getting worse and violent.
The Dateline NBC episode on LaJoya McCoy and her subsequent murder re-airs on December 28, 2023, at 10 p.m. EST. The synopsis reads:
"As detectives investigate the sudden disappearance of LaJoya McCoy, a mother of two, from her apartment, her friends and family reveal LaJoya feared that she was being stalked."
LaJoya McCoy’s children were with their father when she was missing
LaJoya McCoy and Jose Roberto Turner shared two children - James and Savannah. The couple had started seeing each other in college and continued to share an amicable relationship till 2013.
Per Cinemaholic, McCoy and Roberto shared custody of their children and both of them spent alternate weekends with their mother and father. According to case texts, James (9) and Savannah (5) were with their father when McCoy went missing.
LaJoya McCoy was last seen on June 9, 2015.
The authorities from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stumbled upon a grisly crime scene as they paid their visit to McCoy's West Olive Avenue home.
Oxygen reported that the detectives in charge took note of the bloodstains on the wall, carpet and mattress. The bedding along with LaJoya's purse and cellphone were also missing from McCoy's apartment.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Eddie Brown shared:
“The kids room [was] totally disheveled. The drawers were taken out, some of them were on the floor, some of them were partially open, clothing materials on the floor. It looked like a mess.”
Jose Turner and McCoy shared an abusive relationship which led to their split in 2013.
Following this, Turner continually reportedly harassed McCoy as she suspected him of stalking her. A bloodied note inside McCoy's abandoned Toyota turned the father in the equation into a primary suspect overnight. It read:
“May 2015, Jewelry and birth certificates/SSC are missing from my house. May 2015, all my insurance policies are missing from my house. June 15, I got a flat tire after he says he’s in my area. He text me at 12:14 and 12:45 in the morning. Tire guy says it was intentionally done. Sends me disturbing text messages.”
A green notebook was recovered from Turner's car which was filled with hateful ramblings about his ex-girlfriend. His desired to kill McCoy as was evident from his notes.
Where are LaJoya McCoy's children James and Savannah now?
James and Savannah are presently being raised by LaJoya McCoy's uncle David Clark and his wife, Alicia Clark.
The Clarks had rescued LaJoya on an April 2013 night when she had narrowly escaped being choked by Turner during an argument. She turned up at the Clarks half-naked and terrified of her boyfriend. The two often fought over custody as parents.
