We lost a really great coin dealer this Sat 11/7. John M. Turner who was a very active coin dealer still setting up at local shows and running his store, a fellow dealer who was well praised by collectors who knew him was shot and killed during a robbery.
Anyone with information in the case can call Indiana State Police at 1-800-872-6743
.
Here are the details from the local news report.
Store owner John M. Turner, 79, was found by a family member, who called 911.
People who knew Turner said he was a man who loved his family, his shop and his faith.
"He was just a really happy guy all the time. He always had a nice word to say to say about people. He was a good guy," Layton Sebastian said.
Sebastian owns a tire store just down the street from Turner's Coin and Jewelry Shop.
"I hope they find the people and do to them what they've done to this man," Sebastian said.
Emergency officials initially believed that they were responding to a medical emergency, but then found the wound on Turner’s head that was not consistent with a medical issue.
An autopsy performed Monday determined that Turner’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
"We do know one thing. It was a very cowardly, very despicable crime that was committed on a defenseless 79-year-old man, who was unarmed," Sgt. Jerry Goodin said.
The case is being treated as a robbery-murder investigation.
State police will not say if they have surveillance video of the crime. They are asking people who live and work in the area to be alert while they investigate.