6 suspects in Lord slaying appear in court

Six people arrested in connection with the fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord made their first appearances in court Thursday.

William “Owen” Hines, 18; Taylor Sherman, 19; and Dominic Turner, 20, had their initial appearance hearings in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Jacob Meisner, Talan Renner and Talyn Vigil appeared in juvenile court. They are all 17 but were charged as adults.

A judge ordered Vigil to be held in adult jail. Meisner was ordered held at a juvenile detention center, where he was already in custody on other charges. Renner was ordered to be held in juvenile detention.

All face charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping. Turner and Meisner also face aggravated robbery charges. Each was held on $1 million bonds. A Maricopa County grand jury on Wednesday indicted several people on charges stemming from the gang-style attack on Lord, 16, that occurred during an Oct. 28 Halloween party in Queen Creek. Lord died two days later in the hospital.

An attorney representing Lord’s parents spoke about Lord at each defendant’s initial appearance.

“Preston was a popular student,” said Bryn DeFusco at the hearings. “He served on his student council of his high school and he was a three-sport athlete. More importantly, he was a son, a brother, a grandson, a nephew, a cousin and a friend to many. Everyone who knew him loved him.”

DeFusco said all of the defendants fled the scene after Lord was fatally beaten. People who had evidence about what happened to Lord feared retaliation, she said.

“For months, witnesses were threatened and terrified into silence in this case,” she said.

Prosecutors made additional allegations in court about some of the defendants.

They said that Hines and Sherman attempted to destroy evidence, that Sherman had planned a “potential story” of what had happened that night with other defendants, and that Turner had taken evidence from the scene.

The next hearings for all six defendants were scheduled for Wenesday.

Elena Santa Cruz is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Reach her

at elena.santacruz@gannett.com or 480-466-2265. Follow her on X at @ecsantacruz3 .

Miguel Torres is a criminal justice reporter for The Republic. Reach him at miguel.torres@arizonarepublic.com.

JOEL ANGEL JUAREZ/THE REPUBLIC Christine Whalin (left) and David Cantor (right), attorneys for Talan Renner, walk to their vehicle after attending their client’s first appearance in court in the case of teen Preston Lord’s slaying at the Durango Juvenile Court in Phoenix on Thursday.