Seaside woman arrested for torture, murder of special needs woman
A Seaside woman has been arrested after a 10-month long investigation led officials to believe she tortured and murdered a special needs woman.
43-year-old Corrie Denise Arriaga was arrested today and will be charged with the 2017 first degree murder of 33-year-old Courtney Ann Turney. Turney was a dependent adult originally from Oklahoma.
The formal charge will come on Monday with a special circumstance allegation that the murder was intentional and committed during the infliction of torture. Arriaga will also be charged with torture, human trafficking, false imprisonment of a dependent adult, and theft from a dependent adult.
Turney, who attended special education classes following complications during her birth, moved to Monterey County from Oklahoma in 2008. That year, Turney began living with Arriaga in an apartment in Seaside. The investigation revealed that Arriaga began to physically abuse Turney, imprisoned her in the apartment, starved her, and forced her to perform physical labor against her will.
It is also alleged that Arriaga embezzled significant amounts of money that Turney received from being a member of the Comanche Nation. The investigation demonstrated that Turney was imprisoned in Arriaga’s apartment up until her death on August 4, 2017.
As defined by California law, a dependent adult is any person who is between the ages of 18 and 64, who has physical or mental limitations which restrict his or her ability to carry out normal activities or to protect his or her rights, including, but not limited to, persons who have physical or developmental disabilities or whose physical or mental abilities have diminished because of age.
Arriaga was arrested on May 18, 2018, following 10 months of investigation conducted by the Seaside Police Department, with the assistance of the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation.
She is currently in the custody of the Monterey County Jail. Her bail is set at $2,100,000.
The investigation into Turney’s case is still ongoing. Anyone with information about Corrie Arriaga or the death of Courtney Turney is encouraged to contact Detective Kevin Miller of the Seaside Police Department.
