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Forsyth J Your "Hometown Cour Paper" Situ University T of XT GEORGIA mm LIBR T s r- 9 / mPs I ■ r ATHENS Sfi 3060c:___________ A Vol. 95, No. 74 Defense makes in Turner trial Tearful of murder, By Nicole Green Staff Writer PERRY — Day eight of the Julia Lynn Turner poisoning murder trial ended with hardly a dry eye in the courtroom after the alleged victim’s tearful sister testified Wednesday. Linda Hardy, the sister of deceased Cobb County police officer Glenn Turner, provided the Houston County jury with a close examination of the days surrounding her brother’s sudden death on March 3, 1995. Two weeks before his death, Glenn Turner visited Hardy in Acworth. The siblings were very close, Hardy said, because they lived together as roommates for several years. Glenn Turner confided to Hardy that his marriage was over after 18 months of difficulty. Plane wreck kills man TW ML'/** M PT ^ 1 * At iV j ■t j? " V** <!. > . ■*! h t 4 . ..axUH 4\ V, ( 4-V* 'J t * '» i * * -4 • I » r > N r-4* '4 . * M .jtim 1f i w -■5# 3 ■ V L * . S’.'X ►V, Photos/David McGregor Above, the wreckage of an experimental ultralight airplane sits beneath trees in the front yard of a residence at 462 Mathis Airport Road Thursday morning. Below, Forsyth County Sheriff Ted Paxton points out to Wayne Potts where the airplane piloted by Cumming resident Paul Geckeler apparently hit power lines as it attempted to land Wednesday night. .. .Jifc-afc Missed paper policy: For a replacement paper, call INDEX Food i, ■. Religion Sunny 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, LAKE LANIER LEVELS Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. -1 Abby p.m. on Sunday - (770) 887-3126. Date Level Copyright O 2004 Forcyth County Howl Church events 4A Reader share See what’s May 2 1070.41 ft Classifieds 5B some May ft Deaths....... 2A favorite recipes from happening in 3 1070.52 Food 8A their Mom. local churches. May 4 1070.53 ft Horoscope______ IHMHIigHMMtNMlIMMIMIIII 5A Mays Full 1070.52 ft Opinion Page 9A Page 4A High high 1071.00ft HHMIHI 11A in the 80s. 90994 0400 Sports. ......IB Low in the low-60s. I FRIDAY May 7, 2004 not proof say “He was sitting on my couch and he made a statement that Lynn [Turner] was moving to Cumming and he was staying in Cobb County. And he-was in the process of trying to find out where he was going to live because he had no interest in the home,” Hardy said. Lynn Turner purchased their home in Marietta shortly before the couple wed in August 1993. Glenn Turner indicated that he would likely move in with his friend Jeff Mack, or his father in Woodstock, Hardy said. Prosecutor Russ Parker asked if Hardy offered a room in her home to her brother. “That was a given,” she answered tearfully. See TURNER, Page 2A # Photo/file The murder trial of Lynn Turner continued in Perry. Pilot dies after landing attempt From Staff Reports The Federal Aviation Administration Thursday began an investigation into a crash of an experimental airplane that killed a 45-year-old Cumming man Wednesday night. Peter Geckeler died after the plane he was piloting crashed after apparently clipping a^power line as he attempted to land in the dark at Mathis Airport in south Forsyth Wednesday night, county sheriffs officials said. Geckeler, a resident of the Aberdeen subdivision, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash of the experimental ultralight plane around 9:20 p.m. Randall Gibson, an official with the Right Standards Division of the FAA, arrived on the scene in the front yard of a gated residence at 462 Mathis Airport Road Thursday morning to begin an investigation. Gibson said the craft was an amateur-built experi¬ mental ultralight. Gibson said the plane was equipped with a ballistic parachute, which had been deployed. It is not known if the parachute was opened by the pilot or may have been inadvertently opened when the craft clipped a power line during its descent. Laurie Wood, assistant director of the Forsyth See PLANE, Page2A 00 Cents Turner team win amid By Nicole Green Staff Writer Defense attorneys won their first solid victory Wednesday in the mur¬ der trial of Julia Lynn Turner of Cumming. Detective Charles Mazariegos was the lead investigator in the death of Cobb police officer Glenn Turner in March 1995. After Mazariegos told the prosecution what he investi¬ gated, defense attorney Jimmy Berry questioned him about what the detec¬ tive did not investigate. The list was long. “Julia said earlier that morning that Glenn woke up and was halluci¬ nating and tried to jump off the sec¬ ond story balcony, thinking he could fly; then he went downstairs and tried to drink gasoline because he Forsyth Schools equipped to deal with autism Programs depend on the child By Nancy Smallwood Associate Editor While the understanding of autism has grown with the award winning movie, “Rain Man,” most of the pub¬ lic is still unaware of how the disease affects children. Students with autism have a wide range of characteristics and needs depending on the symptoms of the disease present in each child. Every child with autism is unique, according to Pat Crocker of Forsyth County Schools. Some children are mildly affected and may exhibit only slight delays in language and have challenges with social interaction while others can have difficulties processing information and at times throw tantrums when their sens¬ es are overwhelmed. Forsyth County has approximately 116 children diag¬ nosed with autism enrolled in county schools. For chil¬ dren with autism, sensory integration problems are com¬ mon and their senses may be over or under active, according to the Autism Society of America. Some chil¬ dren with autism can be particularly sensitive to sounds, smells and physical contact. Services available in Forsyth County Schools include a wide range of programs that are based on the needs of the children. “The selection of programs for each child is based on their needs,” said Crocker. “We try and include them in a regular classroom setting as much as possible.” One program includes the student in a regular class¬ room setting with the support of consultation with a learning specialist. Here strategies and intervention sug¬ gestions are shared with the classroom teacher and stu¬ dent for the child to be successful in that setting, accord See AUTISM, Page 2A — ft .A i Photo/David McGregor With a few dozen Sharon Elementary students help'of watching, landscaper Jerry Hord with the Steven Rolfs, 8, and 10-year-old Taylor McCormick plant a tree in front of the school recently to recognize the month of April as national autism month. SPORTS, 1B Forsyth girls reach Elite status first big charge was thirsty,” Mazariegos testified Wednesday morning. Mazariegos said he smelled Glenn Turner’s breath for gasoline and smelled nothing. He went to the basement and took a photograph of the gasoline can. Next to the gasoline can in the photograph is a plastic bottle of antifreeze. Cross examination revealed the short length of the investigation. Mazariegos did not check to see if the antifreeze bottle seal was broken. He did not identify the substances in the sundry cans and bottles on base¬ ment shelves. He did not ask Lynn Turner to identify the gas can out of which her husband supposedly drank. See VICTORY, Page 2A