Man charged with murder
A 53-year-old East Pikeland man has been arrested and charged with beating and killing his girlfriend after he accused her of cheating on him.
Mark Turner, who works as a handyman and lives at 31 B Ridge Road, was charged with first-degree murder of his girlfriend, Rachel Yeager.
“This was a brutal killing,” said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan. “The defendant does not appear to understand that his girlfriend was not his property. She was a human being, free to make her own choices, but the defendant destroyed her.”
Hogan said on Nov. 1, Turner went to work wearing work clothes and steel-toed work boots. He had a couple of drinks at a Phoenixville bar and more at a bar in Oaks, and returned home with a quart of beer around 11 p.m.
When Turner walked in, Yeager was sitting on a couch wearing only Turner’s robe and a shirt. Turner went upstairs to go to bed, but noticed a wet spot, and suspected Yeager of cheating on him with another man. He returned downstairs enraged, Hogan said.
Turner punched Yeager in her head with a closed fist repeatedly, hit her on both sides of her jaw, and used his steel-toed work books to kick her in the vaginal area multiple times.
East Pikeland Police responded to a 911 report of a domestic disturbance, and found Yeager unresponsive on the couch. She was transported to Phoenixville Hospital, then to the trauma center at Paoli Hospital, where she lingered on life support for some time, but died at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 2.
The autopsy revealed that Yeager died of blunt impact injuries to her head. She had significant bruising on the left side of her head, from chin to temple, as well as across her genital area. There was red bruising and scrapes on her left hip, left thigh and ankle. There were bruises on both of her knees. Yeager’s right hand had signifi-
cant, dark bruising, officials said.
“It is not easy to kill somebody with just your fists and feet,” Hogan said. “But the defendant was determined to kill the victim. This is the ugly face of domestic violence.’’
Turner has been charged with first-degree murder and related offenses, and remains in Chester County Prison with no bail.
Chester County Detective John O’Donnell is the lead investigator on the case. The prosecutors are Deputy District Attorney Michelle Frei and Assistant District Attorney Ty Broderson. Anybody with any information should call Detective O’Donnell at (610) 344-6866.