Alleged fugitive to appear on national TV show

The trail leading to a Sikeston, Mo., woman police say is on the run after she was charged with a murder in Cape Girardeau has gone cold, and area police are now turning to America's Most Wanted for help.

Tambra Turner, 30, of Sikeston was charged Feb. 23 with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and burglary in connection with the shooting death of 20-year-old Chabreshea Egson.

America's Most Wanted is featuring a profile of Turner, and police hope the added publicity may lead to tips concerning her whereabouts.

"We're still looking for her, but we've gotten no leads recently," said Sgt. Barry Hovis, spokesman for the police department.

According to America's Most Wanted, Turner could be hiding out in St. Louis, other parts of Missouri, Chicago or Kentucky.

In addition to the online profile, the television show has agreed to feature Turner in the "15 Seconds of Shame" segment in a future episode, Hovis said.

A nationwide hunt for the Scott County woman began in March after police requested a federal warrant for her arrest.

She now faces federal charges for fleeing the state of Missouri to avoid prosecution in addition to the murder-related charges.

"We just need to get her name out there because we need to find her," Hovis said.

According to police, Turner was enraged because she believed Egson was her estranged husband's lover and had found written correspondence the two exchanged while her husband was in jail.

"When Turner learned her husband had a female friend who was more than a 'friend,' cops say she used her vehicle to run her husband and the woman off of the road," the America's Most Wanted website said.

That incident allegedly occurred before the murder, involving a woman who was not Egson, and there were no injuries.

On Feb. 22, Turner learned the address where Egson was staying and the "saga took a deadly turn," the website said.

According to police, Turner stood in the doorway of a residence at 1523 N. Spanish St. and shot the other woman.

Egson died at the hospital of the gunshot wound.

Hours before the murder, Turner showed up at that residence and smashed some windows with a tree limb, the state alleges.

Police procured a warrant for her arrest on charges of property damage hours after the murder investigation began and filed charges for murder the following day when Turner refused to turn herself in and more information became available.

Turner may be armed with a .22-caliber pistol and could have shaved her dark brown hair to avoid detection. She has rose tattoos on her left shoulder and right breast. She should be regarded as armed and dangerous, police said.

There is still a $1,000 reward for information leading to Turner's arrest, Hovis said.

Cape Girardeau's last fugitive wanted for murder was Russell Bucklew, who kidnapped his ex-girlfriend in 1996 after killing her new boyfriend, Michael Sanders, in front of four children. Bucklew took his kidnapping victim and went toward St. Louis, telling her he wanted to go down in a "blaze of glory." He was apprehended following a shootout with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, where he and a trooper were both injured.

Bucklew is currently awaiting execution for the homicide.

In 1993, Michael O. Smith went on the run after being charged with killing Cammeron A. Childs in a gang-related conflict. He wasn't apprehended until nearly a year later in Springfield, Ill.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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