Fraser "Scott" and Tina Turk were dedicated to helping their adult son, who had serious mental illness. But he wasn't doing so well around Spring 2026.
Neighbors told Peoria police that Scott Turk wanted their son, Jonathan Turk, out of their house. Tina Turk refused.
Weeks later, around 6:30 p.m. on March 31, Jonathan Turk called 911 and told them his emergency was "murder," according to a transcription of the call detailed in the police report obtained by The Arizona Republic through a public records request.
He said he killed his parents with a hammer and a knife because he was "angry" about the medication they put him on, the report said. It was later found that Jonathan Turk had bought the hammer earlier that day, identifying the one he wanted
after testing various ones on the palm of his hand and head, the report said.
Jonathan Turk, 29, told the 911 dispatcher his parents were in the house, the weapons were in his room, it was too late for CPR to save his parents and he agreed to stay on the phone until police arrived at his family's home near 83rd Avenue and Jomax Road.
He also said he had mental health issues but did not want to talk about medications or answer whether he had previously thought about killing his parents over his medications, according to the report.
There was blood throughout some rooms of the house, according to the report. Scott Turk, 63, was lying on the stairway, and Tina Turk, 56, was lying face down in the bathroom of the main bedroom. Police said in the report that both had clear injuries and lots of blood on them. There was evidence of a violent struggle, police said in the report.
A hammer and knife with blood on them were clearly seen inside a trash can in Jonathan Turk's bedroom, the report said.
In a post-arrest statement, Jonathan Turk told police he was drinking beer and smoking marijuana a few hours before the incident, the report said. He told police his age, then told police he wanted a lawyer.
Among the items officers found in the home during the investigation were old holiday and birthday cards that Jonathan Turk gave his parents. Some had handwritten messages in which he thanked them for their support and shared that he loved them, the report said.
Some officers who assisted in the investigation said they knew the Turk family and had previous encounters with Jonathan Turk. Since 2023, he had mental health delusions, the report said, including sending threatening letters to churches in Arizona and California, which in part said he wanted to kill President Donald Trump.
His family had been working to get him help, and he was placed under court-ordered mental health treatment, the report said.
The couple worked in the health care field and were educated about serious mental illness, according to previous reporting by The Republic. They attended a weeks-long education session to help families navigate having adult loved ones with serious mental illness in 2023. They also attended a support group for families affected by mental illness.
In the days after the killing, one neighbor told police that Scott Turk had recently said that Jonathan Turk wasn't doing well and relapsed, the report said. The neighbor also said Tina Turk shared that her son had stopped taking his prescribed medication and was instead using marijuana, the report said.
Other neighbors also told police they knew Jonathan Turk was struggling or behaving oddly, the report said.
Tina Turk never shared that she believed her son would hurt her or her husband, one neighbor told police, the report said.
But a handwritten note found in her purse indicated she knew he wasn't doing well.
"His decision to break trust will never be acceptable. However, he is human with hurt and pains, and he tried to fill his pain with the wrong medication," the note read, according to the police report.
Jonathan Turk is now facing charges of two counts of first-degree murder. He is also accused of attempting to commit first-degree murder, aggravated assault and disorderly conduct for another incident that occurred days after his arrest, on April 10, according to the Maricopa County Superior Court website.
He is being held on a $3 million bond, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office website.
Republic reporter Stephanie Innes contributed.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ parents tried to help their son, but things got hard. They later died
