A Tarrant County jury has sentenced 48-year-old Christopher Turner to death for the execution-style murder of convenience store owner Anwar Ali during a robbery on March 27, 2020.
The prosecution, led by Assistant District Attorneys Charles Boulware and Allenna Bangs, presented a compelling case, and following the jury’s decision, Turner disrupted the courtroom by attempting to display a sign and shouting "she lied." Sheriff's deputies removed Turner from the courtroom as he continued to yell.
Turner, a convicted felon, entered the Super Big Country Mart in an unincorporated area of Tarrant County around 6:15 a.m. wearing a surgical mask and a glove. He approached 62-year-old Ali, held a gun to his back, and forced him through the store to open the cash register. After taking money from the register, Turner forced Ali into the bathroom, made him kneel, and shot him in the neck, executing him. Turner then fled in Ali's Toyota minivan, taking cash, Ali’s wallet, and more than $50,000 in a black bag.
The body of Ali was discovered an hour later, and Turner embarked on a spending spree using Ali’s credit cards and cash to purchase cars, jewelry, drugs, and clothing. He eventually fled to Colorado, where U.S. Marshals arrested him. A firearm found on his person was determined to be the weapon used in the murder.
“This was a premeditated, cold-blooded murder,” Boulware told the jury. “From the moment he was charged with this crime, he has tried to escape responsibility.”
Bangs pointed to Turner’s manipulative actions before the trial, revealing that he had obtained the names and phone numbers of jurors and gave them to an inmate charged with murder. “It’s now long past time for the Ali family to find justice,” she said.
Bangs also noted the tragic impact on Ali’s family, as the victim had come to the United States from Pakistan to pursue the American dream. “He was a good person,” she said. “On March 27, 2020, at the age of 62, he was wiped away in an instant... for greed, for absolute lack of respect for human life.”
After the death penalty was announced, Ali's son, Hussein, addressed the courtroom. “Thank you for giving us justice,” he said. “I hope there are no more devils like this person.”
The case was investigated by DA Investigator Benjamin Lopez, former DA Investigator Jim Rizy, and Victim Advocate Cecilia Jones, with support from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.
