"I Was Out There Trying to Survive": Chester Turner on the Phone from Death Row, 2021

Name: "I Was Out There Trying to Survive": Chester Turner on the Phone from Death Row, 2021
Uploaded: 2021-03-21
Duration: 33 min 58 s
Description: On a recorded prison call from San Quentin's death row, Chester Turner talked about his childhood, his early arrests, county jail and life in a condemned cell, but declined to discuss the murders.

On a recorded prison call from San Quentin's death row, Chester Turner talked about his childhood, his early arrests, county jail and life in a condemned cell, but declined to discuss the murders.

Subject: Chester Dewayne Turner
Recorded: about 2021
Runtime: 33:58

Content warning: An opening news clip refers to the murders of women in South Los Angeles; Turner describes a knife attack and a violent arrest.

The Interview

Some time between November 2020 and March 2021, true-crime author Phil Chalmers recorded a telephone call with Chester Turner, then on death row at San Quentin State Prison. Chalmers announces that he is recording and Turner agrees. Chalmers tells viewers that Turner has an appeal in progress and has asked not to talk about the crimes, and he does not ask about them. Instead Turner describes his early life, his first arrests, his years in and out of custody, and daily life in a condemned cell. Chalmers published the call on his YouTube channel on March 21, 2021, introduced by a 2014 news clip about Turner's second sentencing.

Historical Context

Between 1987 and 1998 Turner murdered fourteen women in South Los Angeles, at a time when several serial killers were active there and many of the women they targeted were affected by the crack epidemic. In 2003, DNA taken from Turner after a 2002 rape conviction matched evidence from two of the murders, further matches followed, and in December 2004 he was charged with ten murders. He was convicted in May 2007 and sentenced to death in July 2007. In February 2011 he was charged with four more murders; he was convicted of those in June 2014 and sentenced to death again. A man named David Allen Jones, wrongly convicted in 1995 of three murders in the same area, was freed in 2004 after DNA pointed to Turner; two of those murders were among the four for which Turner was convicted in 2014.

Circumstances of the Interview

The call was made on the prison telephone system, whose recorded announcements and time warnings are heard throughout; it breaks off once and resumes with a second call. Chalmers presents it as a first conversation ahead of a fuller interview "when you can really talk", perhaps for a book. Turner had recently had his 54th birthday and mentions the side effects of an injection, apparently a COVID-19 vaccine. On November 30, 2020, the California Supreme Court had reversed his conviction for the death of an unborn child and upheld the rest.

What the Interview Covers

Turner says he was born in Warren, Arkansas, and that his mother brought him to South Central Los Angeles at five, leaving a father who was abusive when he drank. He explains a scar on his face as a box-cutter wound from a fight with three men who approached him to buy drugs, describes working at Domino's at 17 or 18 and as a security worker at a homeless shelter, and gives his account of an arrest in which he says officers beat him, shot him with a beanbag shotgun and broke his leg, and a police dog bit him. He describes a juvenile fight that sent him to juvenile hall at 16, his time in Los Angeles County Jail, which he says made him "like an animal", and his first prison sentence. He outlines his transfer from prison to Los Angeles County in 2004 after the DNA matches, his arrival at San Quentin in 2007, and conditions on death row. He says he misses his children, who were four and five when he was arrested.

What Makes the Recording Significant

Recordings of Turner speaking at length in his own voice are rare. No other published interview was found during research, although in the call Chalmers mentions that another interviewer, identified only by the initials "A.D.", had interviewed Turner for a podcast due out that week, and Turner agrees. Its value lies in his account of his background and of life in custody rather than in any discussion of the murders, which he declined to talk about.

Archival Importance

Turner's case is one of the clearest examples of DNA databases resolving long-unsolved murders in Los Angeles, and of DNA freeing a wrongly convicted man. The call preserves the voice of the man those cases led to, recorded while he was on death row at San Quentin.

Important Caveats

Turner's accounts of his family, the scar and especially the arrest and police violence are his claims and have not been checked. Chalmers's remarks to camera, that Turner has "probably killed 30, 40, 50 people" and is "probably the most prolific" killer in Los Angeles history, are Chalmers's speculation. Chalmers counts fifteen murders including an unborn child; that count had been reversed by the California Supreme Court shortly before the call. The opening news clip says Turner received "an additional life sentence" in 2014; it was a second death sentence. The 2002 rape victim, a living survivor, is not mentioned in the recording and must not be named on the page.

Victim'S Relative: But what he took from our family can never be replaced. Never. You know, he tried to destroy our family, but he needs to know he didn't destroy anything. He made us stronger.

News Reporter: That's a family member of one of the victims who was killed by 47-year-old Chester D. Turner, one of the most prolific killers in Los Angeles history. Turner is just one of the three men responsible for brutally murdering multiple women in the '80s and '90s. More than 100 women in South Los Angeles were killed during that time. Police point to highly addictive crack that caused many women to turn to prostitution and other crimes to support their addiction. Turner and the other two men reportedly targeted these women. He was already on death row for murdering 10 women, but Friday Turner was given an additional life sentence for four more murders. For [unclear: "HuffPost Live" / "us live"], I'm Logan [unclear: "Tittle" / "Tiddle"].

Phil Chalmers: All right, we got Chester Turner, the South Side Slayer.

Automated Operator: [unclear: "Thank you for using"]

Phil Chalmers: Man, what's going on, man?

Chester Turner: They kind of brought the phone to me a little late. I just got it.

Phil Chalmers: That's all right. I see that. I was on the phone with someone, I had, I had to dump them off, so we're good. Are you okay?

Chester Turner: Huh?

Phil Chalmers: Are you good?

Chester Turner: Oh, yeah, I feel a little bit better. I feel a little bit better now.

Phil Chalmers: Are you?

Chester Turner: Yeah, I mean, that shot was like, whoa.

Phil Chalmers: Yeah, man, I'm, I'm a little nervous taking that, so I'm waiting to see how it goes for a while with other people.

Chester Turner: Nah, nah, don't get, don't get me wrong. Hey, it's good, it's good to take it, but it just feels like you get mild, you get mild symptoms of having, having the virus.

Phil Chalmers: Right. I got you. And wow.

Chester Turner: Yeah, it probably takes [unclear: "when you get it" / inaudible], but just make sure you might as well kick back. Make sure you do it on a day where you don't have nothing else to do. Like a couple days, relax after that.

Phil Chalmers: Yeah, exactly, exactly. So we're talking to, we're talking to Chester Turner, Chester Dewayne Turner. Chester Turner is in San Quentin State Prison. I just want you to know I'm recording you, Chester. Is that okay?

Chester Turner: Yes.

Phil Chalmers: Chester has an appeal process he's working through, and he has asked not to talk about specifically the crimes, which we won't today. Chester, what, what's your prison nickname?

Chester Turner: My prison nickname, they call me, same as my street name, is Tutu.

Phil Chalmers: That's what they call you? T-U-T-U? And why, why that? Why Tutu?

Chester Turner: Yes. That's my, that's my gang name for [unclear: "moving" / "movie"].

Phil Chalmers: Really? So I've got a picture of you I'm showing on, on the screen here. It's a picture of you, maybe you were at court. It looks like you've got a pretty nice scar on your right cheek.

Chester Turner: Yeah, I got that scar. I was, I guess you could say, like any other individual, I was out there trying to survive. I was selling drugs on the streets.

Phil Chalmers: Yep.

Chester Turner: And at the time I was selling drugs, I had three individuals try to, three individuals approached me wanting to buy drugs from me. And while I was getting the drugs out, trying to sell it to them, I get [unclear: "sucked" / "socked"] by one, and then I start back fighting, and I got cut with a box cutter across the face and across my hand and my, my wrist.

Phil Chalmers: Okay.

Chester Turner: And so after that, you know, I walked about three or four blocks back to my house, and I was bleeding. I had on a white [unclear: "Fielder jacket" / "feelinger jacket"] with blood all on it. So when I got to my house, I called the ambulance. The ambulance came to my house, and they put patches and everything. So they told me, this happened late, like early in the morning, about one or two in the morning, probably. They told me just to go to the hospital, so I went to the hospital. Then that's when I received my stitches.

Phil Chalmers: Wow. Now, when I look at your picture you sent me from San Quentin, it doesn't look like, I can't see the scar in that picture. Why is that?

Chester Turner: You have to be, and I still got the scar, yeah. It had to be turned, turned sideways at a certain position.

Phil Chalmers: At a certain position. Okay. Yeah, it looks like it's not there. So what year were you born, Chester?

Chester Turner: I was born [unclear: "11/5/66" / "11 56"].

Phil Chalmers: You were born in '66.

Automated Operator: This call and your telephone number will be monitored and recorded.

Phil Chalmers: You're a young buck. You're two, you're two years younger than me. You're a young buck. So that means you're about 54 years old right now.

Chester Turner: I am. I am 54. Just had a birthday, November 5th.

Phil Chalmers: November 5th. And you were raised up in Arkansas?

Chester Turner: Well, basically, no, I was...

Phil Chalmers: You were born in Arkansas?

Chester Turner: I was born in, I was born in Arkansas, right. I was born in Warren, Arkansas, and my mother brought me out here to California when I was five years old.

Phil Chalmers: So, five years old, you moved to California. What area, like LA, or where?

Chester Turner: LA. South Central.

Phil Chalmers: South Central. Damn. You went right into the, you went into the hotbed, South Central.

Chester Turner: Exactly, exactly. Yeah, I used to live right there, I used to live off...

Phil Chalmers: Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead.

Chester Turner: Yeah, I used to live right there off the [unclear: "Coast" / "code"], in between Vermont and Hoover.

Phil Chalmers: And your dad scooted. So you, you had a father, but he scooted, so then you moved out with your mom? How'd that go?

Chester Turner: No, no, no, no. The situation with that, the reason why my mother left Arkansas, because my father was abusive when he drank.

Phil Chalmers: Okay. So your mom left him?

Chester Turner: Correct.

Phil Chalmers: And what did he end up doing? Did he stay in Arkansas?

Chester Turner: Yeah, he stayed in Arkansas, and he got remarried, had other kids, had [unclear: "two" / "three"], three other sons.

Phil Chalmers: And is he still alive?

Chester Turner: No, he died. He died 2007, I believe.

Phil Chalmers: 2007. Okay. Is your mom still alive?

Chester Turner: Yes. Yes, she's still alive.

Phil Chalmers: You ever talk to your mom?

Chester Turner: It's been a couple of months. It's been about three, three, four months since I talked to her. And so it's been a minute, so I wrote her, so I'm waiting to get a response.

Phil Chalmers: Well, if you need anything from me out here, just let me know.

Chester Turner: Okay.

Phil Chalmers: You know, someday you and I are going to do one hell of an interview, when you can really talk.

Chester Turner: Hey, that's what I'm waiting for.

Phil Chalmers: When you could really talk, you and I are going to do one, maybe even a book. But what I want to just chat with you a little bit right now is just for you, just for YouTube. So, Chester, your moniker, the media dubbed you the South Side Slayer, which is ironic, because I think there's three people that have the same name, Michael Hughes and someone else.

Chester Turner: Correct.

Phil Chalmers: You moved out to California. You were working, like, for Domino's Pizza. You're probably just trying to stay alive, and you ended up in some homeless shelters. Is that correct?

Chester Turner: Well, basically, I didn't end up in a homeless shelter. It's basically, I was working at Domino's when I was 17, 18 years old. That's the only job, you know, that I could qualify because of my education. And I was also doing that and selling drugs on the side, making money. And during the time at the homeless shelter you're talking about, I was, like, the shelter was like where I worked. It's like, how would I say that? Where I was working, I was working in the homeless shelter right there.

Phil Chalmers: Oh, you worked there too. Okay. Okay, there you go. It's a program. Did they let you stay there while you work there? Did you get to stay there while you worked there?

Chester Turner: Correct. That's correct. I was working security there.

Phil Chalmers: So did you get caught up, you got caught up in some crimes, maybe an assault and cruelty to animals and stuff like that growing up? Is that where you, did you have some crimes? You got arrested for assaulting an officer and cruelty to animals. Are those legitimate charges?

Chester Turner: Oh, you're talking about the K-9. You're talking about the K-9. Really, that was really, the whole story on that, you know, basically, is that during the time, that year, that night I found out my grandfather had died.

Phil Chalmers: Okay.

Chester Turner: And at the time I was staying in a hotel, the hotel off of Broadway and 88th Place. So the hotel I'm staying, and I went there, and when I got back to the hotel, it was my girlfriend, that I was, had a relationship with. So me and her got into it, because she, she said, why are you upset? And I told her, hey, my grandfather died, you're telling me I shouldn't be upset? She's like, uh, no. Then during that time, I told her, you know, get out, and she got out. The next thing I know, because I was on parole, she [unclear: "went to stop" / "wouldn't stop"] the police. So the police came. When the police came, when the police came into the, she told them it was her room, even though I paid for it. The police came to my room. I heard somebody knock at the door. I thought it was her, so I looked out. The people, I didn't see nobody. So when I opened the door, all I seen was two guns pointing at me. They was stooped down, two guns pointing at me. I'm like, whoa, what's going on here?

Phil Chalmers: Okay.

Chester Turner: Then they [unclear: "finally called you" / "if I go"], you're on parole, or probation? I said, yeah, I'm on, I'm on parole. Then they come, step up, put my hand behind my back, so I did that. They searched me. After they searched me, they was telling me, oh, well, we're going to handcuff you. Handcuff me for what? I'm in my own room. And then we had, we started struggling. When we started struggling, out down the hallway to the front of the, to the front of the building, I tripped over the flower bed. When I tripped over the flower bed, me, it was me, the sergeant fell on the ground. And I got up. When I got up, the sergeant has got, he got up, pulled his baton out, and the other officer was holding onto my leg. So I got my hands in the air. The next thing I know, the sergeant came straight down with the baton and bust me in the head. The time, like, I fell back, I was [unclear: "fitted" / "fitting"] to react, charged the sergeant, but I [unclear: "smashed my foot"], and I ran.

Chester Turner: So when I ran, I ran through a vacant lot, jumped over a gate. When I jumped over the gate, it was like a vacant house and an apartment next to it, and it was like a metal screen door, security door, laying against the back of the, back of the house. So I hid under there. So when I hid under there, it's like the officers, I could hear the helicopters calling my name, the officers looking, they surrounded the whole block. And I guess the neighbor or somebody seen I was hiding under there. So next thing I know, I hear the sergeant tell me, oh, come out, come out with your hands up. I'm like, all right, so I'm scooting back. As I was scooting back, I could hear the beanbag shotgun. I hear it clicking. Then next thing I know, I got shot five times. He shot me five times in my shoulder, in my right shoulder, and drug me off [unclear: "my there" / "monitor"], flip me over, put me in handcuffs. When they put me in handcuffs, they grabbed my right leg, and they twisted and snapped my leg.

Chester Turner: And I'm looking at the K-9. The K-9 was like on the left of me. And when he had snapped my leg, I turned back around to see what was going on. When he did that, I turned back to look back at the dog. That's when he ripped my right arm. The dog just snatched me on my right arm and just ripped my arm, while I was being handcuffed. So it was like, after that, it's like they set me up, had me right there for a minute. I could hear over the radio, on the radio, I could hear them radio to the sergeant, tell the sergeant, hey, we searched this room, there's no gun in the room. I didn't have no gun. And it was like they didn't know what to do. So basically, after that, it was like the ambulance came. They wouldn't give me no medical treatment. Took me to [unclear: "108" / "a 108"] police station. They set me in the back of the car for [unclear: "eight" / "hey"]. I sat back there for two hours. They never took me into the, to the substation.

Phil Chalmers: So that was your, that was your animal cruelty, the K-9?

Chester Turner: Yes.

Automated Operator: This call and your telephone number will be monitored and recorded.

Chester Turner: They tried to lie and say I hit the K-9 with a, with a [unclear: "bathroom sink" / "bear through sank"]. I'm like, I'm going to pick up a sink? Y'all got a shotgun and everything on me. So they gave me cruelty, cruelty to a K-9.

Phil Chalmers: Gotcha. So, so, Chester, you're born like everybody else, as a baby boy. Have you ever sat down at night when you lay in your bunk or your bed and say, man, how the hell did I end up on death row?

Chester Turner: I said, I said, I said, every, every holiday. Every holiday, it's like, I miss my family. I think about, you know...

Automated Operator: You have 60 seconds remaining.

Phil Chalmers: Go ahead, keep going.

Chester Turner: Yeah, my kids, my kids was four years, my kid was four and five when I left, when I got arrested, and now they in their 20s. And I miss them, I love them. And I'm like, every, it's like every day I do the same routine every day: wake up, sit in the cell, look out the cell, get fit. It's like yard every other day. And it's [unclear: "a kid" / "hey dad"], you know. Then I always have to watch my back.

Phil Chalmers: Mm-hmm. Yeah, in prison. Can you call me right back?

Chester Turner: Yeah, yeah, let me call you back.

Phil Chalmers: We'll pick right up. Thank you.

Phil Chalmers: Chester Turner, the South Side Slayer, is convicted of 14 murders. 15, actually, if you count a pregnant lady's baby. 15 murders. He's probably the most prolific, prolific serial killer in LA history, Los Angeles. And I believe he's killed a lot more. If you look at this list I showed you earlier, you know, he killed someone, a woman, in [unclear: "three event" / "3 of a"] March of '87, and October of '87, January of '89, September of '89, '93, '93. There's no way he's taking these kind of breaks, you know, '87 to '89, and '93 to '95, and '96 to '98. I just don't think he's taking those longer breaks. I don't think he took that long of a cooling-off period. I believe he's killed a lot more, and this is why we're going to do a real interview when you can talk, either when death row is taken off in California or he loses his [unclear: "allies" / "all his"]...

Automated Operator: This is Global Tel Link. You have a prepaid call from [inaudible; the caller's name], an inmate at California State Prison, San Quentin, San Quentin, California. Thank you for using Global Tel Link.

Phil Chalmers: All right, Chester, we're back, and I asked you a question. I said, do you ever sit down in your bunk at night and say, how the hell did I end up here?

Chester Turner: You know, let me back up. I kind of jumped ahead of myself.

Phil Chalmers: Yeah.

Chester Turner: And let me back up. I think I sit there, I really go back to basically when I was, when I was coming up. You know, I was like a mama's boy. And after being a mama's boy, then after the first, that start hanging out, I started hanging out with the wrong crowd in the streets. And it's like, when I got to, when I was a juvenile, when I got into it, I got into it with one of my boys, because he thought, he tried, because I was humble, when he's trying to bully me, trying to show out in front of the homies, that he tried to stab me with a box cutter. And that's when I had to knock him out. And as I was picking up the box cutter, he ran up on me, and I, I cut him across the [unclear: "shirt" / "chest"]. And I wind up going, I wind up going to juvenile justice [unclear: "center" / "at"], going to court. And I wind up, I didn't get no time. They didn't send me to YA. I got probation for it.

Phil Chalmers: Right.

Chester Turner: But, you know, I had to go to Los Padrinos. That's the longest two months I had to stay locked up as a kid. First time.

Phil Chalmers: How old were you?

Chester Turner: I was 16.

Phil Chalmers: Okay. Gotcha.

Chester Turner: So I was about 16. About 16. So after doing that, I mean, I start, then it's like I came home, then it's like, that was the first sign of me getting in trouble. It's like every time you look around, I was fighting. And it was like I was always, always out there. I turned, always, when I got to 18. 18 is when I really experienced, when I went to LA County Jail, when I went to [unclear: "our jail" / "the jail"]. So [unclear: "our jail"] is like, it's like totally worse than prison. And it's like, it's more, it kind of made me start building, building a character in me, making me more, I guess you could say, like an animal. Hostile.

Phil Chalmers: Okay.

Chester Turner: Because, because there's so much I had to deal with. You had to deal with the Hispanics, then you had to deal with the deputies. Deputies beat you up, killing you. And there were so many murders in the LA County. And it was like, every time I looked around, it was like I was going back and forth. It's like I never stayed, I never stayed out of County Jail in a year and a half, sometimes six months. I was always going back and forth. And when I finally started going to prison, and that kind of, I was only supposed to go to prison because they wanted me to go to prison to see whether I was prison material. And that was for receiving, that was for receiving stolen property, a GMC truck, a 1990 [unclear: "C truck"]. So I started going to prison. I was only there for about six, probably about six months. And after that, it was like my life's just, in my head, I'm young, I'm in my 20s, and it's like, hey, it's like a [unclear: "drill in them" / "drilling"], it's like being a thrill seeker. And you consider being the man if you've been to prison. You get back on the streets, oh yeah, I've been to prison. You meet a lot of people that, you know, probably live in the same area that you live. So it's like, so my life started going downhill after that.

Phil Chalmers: So then you were kind of on the streets, probably messing with drugs and interacting with maybe sex workers. And you're convicted of 14, you're convicted of 14, 15 murders, and it looks like the span that they have is running from '87 to '98. You were arrested, let's see, you were arrested in what, 2007 or something like that?

Chester Turner: Yes. Well, let's recorrect that. I was, I was, 2000, 2004, they brought me, they brought me back down to LA County. I was already locked up in 2000, 2000. I was in Jamestown State Prison. 2004, they came to Jamestown State Prison.

Phil Chalmers: Oh, okay. You were locked up already. Okay. Yeah, you were locked up, let's say, for a [unclear: "murder" / "murderer"], and they came, they came and got you and said, hey, we, we have a DNA or something, and it hit on some of the cold...

Chester Turner: Yeah, yeah. Yes. Yeah. Then when they came and got me for the cold case, in 2004, I went to LA County. From the time being in LA County, I dealt with a lot of, I really didn't have too much problems, just, I hadn't, just had a lot of fights. Yeah, had a lot of fights because of the situation of my case. And while I was down there, it's like, from 2004 to 2007, I was, I went to, I came to San Quentin. I arrived at San Quentin 2007.

Phil Chalmers: So you were, you were, you were convicted of 10 murders in 2007, then another four murders in 2014.

Chester Turner: Yes. [unclear: "I did on three" / "at the end on three"], then later on, and [unclear: "3/3/11" / "three three eleven"], they came and got me [unclear: "for the four charges" / "that flat charges" / "for ad charges"]. That's when. Okay. And I went back to LA County, and I stayed at LA County. They wanted to give me life for those, but I [unclear: "told go ahead and fight to death" / "don't know and let's go ahead and fight the death penalty"]. So we went ahead, and we went all the way [unclear: "from the death penalty" / "with it all the way from the death tolls"].

Phil Chalmers: So you have like 14 death sentences right now?

Chester Turner: Yes. Yes, I do.

Phil Chalmers: So, you know, I'm going to dance around this a little bit, but if you're, if you really committed the murders that you're convicted of, you're one of the most [unclear: "prolific" / "horrific"] killers in LA. And I believe that there's more, because there's no way somebody doing what you're doing takes those longer breaks. But you and I can get into that later. But you're in San Quentin... Go ahead, go ahead.

Chester Turner: Well, the situation on that, by my understanding, that they did have more. They said they did have more murders, but they didn't ever charge me with.

Automated Operator: This call and your telephone number will be monitored and recorded.

Phil Chalmers: That would be my guess, doing what I do, Chester. That's my guess. But I can't wait to talk to you about all this, and I'll get off of it, because I know you don't really want to talk about this. But let me ask you this. You're in San Quentin, man. That's the fucking big house. You're on death row. What is it like to be on death row in San Quentin?

Chester Turner: Well, I mean, you know, I mean, being on death row, you know, it's like, when I first got here, when I, when I first got here, I was a little leery, because you get off the bus, the first place you got to go to is the AC, and stay in the AC for orientation. And it's like...

Phil Chalmers: Is that called the Adjustment Center?

Chester Turner: Yes, the Adjustment Center. So I was in the Adjustment Center for about, almost two, two or three months, before they sent me over here to East Block. East Block is one of the main, is the condemned unit. East Block and [unclear: "Donner" / "diner"] is a condemned unit. So, and so when I got here, so it was like, I had to be more [unclear: "people" / "careful"]. It's like, they know who you are because they see news. Everybody got TVs. They got, they get newspaper. My case was always in the news, so they know who I was.

Phil Chalmers: Are you in a single, are you in a single-man cell, Chester?

Chester Turner: Oh, yes, I am.

Phil Chalmers: You have your own cell. Are you locked up in your cell? Are you locked up in your cell most of the day?

Chester Turner: Well, I'm locked in, I'm locked in my cell most of the day. And it's not only, I'm locked up in my cell from, what we have, yard. Yard is, we go to yard for about three hours. Everything is over with, as far as our yard time, at 12 o'clock. 12 o'clock is when they start running everybody in, and they lock everything up.

Phil Chalmers: So like, when you say 12 o'clock, you mean 12 noon? You're pretty much locked in the rest of the day?

Chester Turner: Yes. Yes.

Phil Chalmers: Can you see, can you see inmates next to you? Or is it steel walls, or is it bars?

Chester Turner: Not well. It's, it's bars with a, bars with a security screen over.

Phil Chalmers: Okay.

Chester Turner: So many, so many people was getting speared.

Phil Chalmers: Yeah. So can you see people? Like, can you see, can you see your neighbors?

Chester Turner: No, no, I can't see my neighbor. It's like, we have to make, we have to make certain, we have to make gadgets, like take, like break a piece of mirror, make a little piece of mirror and fold it, so we can stick it between the little grooves between the bars, where we could see out, to see who's walking down the tier.

Phil Chalmers: I gotcha. So in your cell, where you spend a lot of time: a bed, a desk, a toilet, a sink? What do you have?

Chester Turner: No desk. No desk. It's a sink. You got the bed, the sink, the toilet, you got the light fixtures, you got two cabinets.

Phil Chalmers: Do you have a TV?

Chester Turner: Also, we are allowed to have a fan.

Automated Operator: This call and your telephone number will be monitored and recorded.

Chester Turner: We get everything, almost everything other prisoners get.

Phil Chalmers: Yeah. So do you have a TV?

Chester Turner: Yes.

Phil Chalmers: Do you have a video game system?

Chester Turner: No, no. We haven't got that. We are not allowed to get that yet.

Phil Chalmers: So you pass the time watching TV and reading and stuff like that?

Chester Turner: Yeah. Well, you know, not really. Not really, because I always find something to keep me occupied. Either I do some drawing, writing, or I find, I find something to do. I always have something to do.

Phil Chalmers: I showed them some of your writings you sent me. It says "West Best Evil". Remember, you made a drawing, "Phil and Wendy"? You probably don't, you probably don't remember. You probably make a million of these drawings. But you had sent me a drawing on some nice card stock, and it says "Phil and Wendy, West Best Evil". I don't know if you know what that is.

Chester Turner: Yeah, yeah, yeah. What kind of, what kind of, I have to figure it out.

Phil Chalmers: I know you're probably doing a mess of these.

Chester Turner: Yeah, I know.

Phil Chalmers: That's what I thought. Then I got your handprints. Those are kind of cool.

Chester Turner: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, now I remember.

Phil Chalmers: Now you remember? Oh, yeah. Is that the one with the dragon?

Chester Turner: Yes.

Phil Chalmers: Okay. And then I got the hand, then I got the handprints. It says right hand, left hand.

Chester Turner: Yeah, okay. That's the, yeah, that's one of a kind. I never did that for nobody. Nobody, right there, the handprints.

Phil Chalmers: Not a dragon. Oh, yeah. Okay, I got it.

Chester Turner: Yep. That's the reason, hey, that's the reason why I didn't, it, it [unclear: "dawned on" / "Donald"] me what it was.

Phil Chalmers: Yeah. So, pretty cool. Well, listen, man, it's been, it's been really good talking to you. I hope you're, you're doing okay. I hope you're healthy, and, and you keep me posted on how things are going, either, you know, your appeals end, or they eliminate the death penalty in California. And I think you and I, you and I, you and I got something big to do.

Chester Turner: Oh, yeah. I mean, that's the main thing, you know. All I need is somebody to be behind me 100% that I could trust. The main thing, the word is trust.

Phil Chalmers: Yeah. Well, hopefully you and I'll, you and I'll build that trust. You know, at least you know I'm all over. You can Google me. You know, I am who I am.

Automated Operator: 60 seconds remaining.

Phil Chalmers: You could look at my track record and see what I've been doing for 35 years. And I'm not going to mention the guy's name, but I'll use the initials: A.D. must have interviewed you?

Chester Turner: Yeah, yeah.

Phil Chalmers: And he's using it for some kind of one of his podcasts or something, that's coming out this week. I didn't know if you knew that, but I just want to make sure you knew that.

Chester Turner: Yeah, yeah. And [unclear: "but the thing over there is this"], this interview is way better.

Phil Chalmers: Well, I hope so. Well, you and I, I think, [unclear: "I'm going to take my word for it"]. Hey, listen, I think you and I have a book to write. So keep in touch and let me know what you need, if you need anything from me. And we're going to cut, we're going to get cut off here, so you have a great day and a great weekend. Okay?

Chester Turner: Hey, you do the same. Thanks, [unclear: "Phil" / "Chad"].

Phil Chalmers: All right. Hey, take care.

Chester Turner: Thanks, man.

Phil Chalmers: All right. Bye.

Phil Chalmers: So what is our goal? To interview Chester Turner when his appeals are over, or his death penalty gets taken off the table in California, which it might. And I believe, and he even said, he's convicted of 15, and he thinks, he said, the police have more murders he's connected to but couldn't prove it. He is definitely going to be the most deadliest serial killer in LA, Los Angeles history. I mean, you got Ramirez, you got the Grim Sleeper, you got all kinds of people out there, the Hillside Stranglers. And I believe Chester Turner has probably killed 30, 40, 50 people. So it's going to be very, very interesting when we do get to chat. So thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed it. The South Side Slayer, Los Angeles' most dangerous, prolific serial killer in California history, probably. And we'll hear more from him. So do me a favor: like this, make a comment, tell me what you think. If there's any questions you want me to ask inmates, put them in the comments. I always look at those and check those out. And make sure you subscribe to the, to the channel, hit the notification bell, and stay tuned for more interviews. God bless y'all. Be safe out there.