Lab Tests Show Toddler Died of Suffocation

Investigators have solved one mystery in the death of a 2-year-old Mission Viejo boy--he was suffocated--but continue to search for clues to the killer.

“The death was caused by another human being,” Orange County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Ron Wilkerson said Thursday. “That’s extremely significant because now we’ve established that there is a crime and we can arrest somebody once we’ve identified a suspect.”

Authorities ruled the death of Cecil “C.T.” Turner a homicide after additional forensic tests revealed the cause of death, Wilkerson said. The boy was found at the bottom of a steep slope near his family’s apartment a month ago after his mother and stepfather reported him missing.

Wilkerson said investigators do not expect to make an arrest in the case any time soon.

Two detectives assigned to the case continued to pore over evidence “to make sure they didn’t miss anything,” but so far the probe has turned up few clues, Wilkerson said.

The toddler’s mother told investigators that C.T. apparently wandered away from the family’s Via Florecer home early Aug. 12 while she was sleeping and his stepfather was jogging. The mother’s report prompted a massive search that included hundreds of volunteers scouring the area overnight.

The following afternoon, a Camp Pendleton Marine found the toddler’s nude body partially covered in debris under heavy brush near Oso Creek, several hundred yards from the family’s apartment.

A preliminary autopsy failed to establish the cause of death, partly because the boy’s body had no outward sign of trauma, such as bruising, and authorities had to wait for results of tissue and toxicological tests.

Investigators said Thursday that asphyxiation was indicated as the cause of the child’s death by ruptures in tiny vessels in the lungs, showing loss of oxygen.

The boy’s mother, Edith Marie Wu, and her husband, Feilong Wu, a world championship diver from China, were questioned following the disappearance, and detectives have combed their apartment for clues. The couple has remained cooperative throughout the investigation, Wilkerson said.

Edith Marie Wu and her new husband had moved to Orange County from Texas just a few weeks before C.T.’s death. The mother did not return repeated phone calls Thursday. She initially told reporters she believed C.T. died of exposure.

The boy’s father, Maxwell Turner, said Thursday that he was hurt but “really wasn’t surprised,” to learn that his son was killed.

“I’ve come to the same conclusion myself,” Maxwell Turner said during a telephone interview from his Indiana home. “I don’t know how anyone can do something like that under any circumstances.”

Edith Marie Wu agreed in Juvenile Court last month to turn over custody of C.T.’s 5-year-old sister, Bryttnie, to Turner, her ex-husband. But a custody battle erupted between Turner and the children’s maternal grandparents, Cecil and Carolyn Morrow, when family members gathered in Texas for the toddler’s funeral.

An Orange County judge had granted custody to Turner, but a Texas judge later issued an order prohibiting the father from contacting his daughter while awaiting a custody hearing in Texas.

Bryttnie is now living with her grandparents in Austin. A hearing to determine whether the custody change will stand is scheduled for Oct. 30 in Texas..

The Morrows could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Turner said he hopes to get the Texas order overturned. “When [the Morrows] filed a restraining order, they neglected to tell the judge in Texas what has been going on in California. That’s not good.”

Turner said he plans to spend Christmas with Bryttnie and his new son, Maxwell Joseph Mitchell Turner. The 5-pound, 10-ounce baby boy was born Tuesday to Turner and his 39-year-old fiancee, Janey Moore.