At 6 p.m. Thursday, Mario Centobie, who confessed to killing Moody police officer Keith Turner in 1998, will die by lethal injection.Centobie was sentenced to death in 1999 for the June 27, 1998, murder of Turner. He was also sentenced to three life sentences for the wounding of a Tuscaloosa police officer.
According to St. Clair County District Attorney Richard Minor, the federal court on Tuesday denied a motion filed Friday to stay the execution. He said Centobie also filed an affidavit in response to the motion saying he did not authorize the stay request and he was ready to die.
"His execution will bring a sense of closure and some relief for the city of Moody, the county, and law enforcement officers," Minor said. "It will also serve as a reminder to families of law enforcement now that we're there for them, God forbid it happen again, and will ensure anyone who kills a police officer in the line of duty receives the ultimate penalty, which is the death penalty."
Minor said fewer than 10 people will witness the execution, but he will be among them, as will former Moody Police Chief Bobby Clements and Turner's widow, Brandy Phillips.
Current Moody Police Chief John Kile was the shift supervisor the night Turner was killed and said he plans to take about six other officers with him to Holman Correctional Facility near Atmore Thursday, where the execution is scheduled to take place.
"It'll give us final closure to a certain degree," he said. "If we can ever get a final closure because someone in our life is still missing."
Kile said that by sending uniformed officers to the prison he hopes to show support for Turner and his family.
"This is a final gesture of respect for his family," Kile said.
He said Turner's murder was devastating to the department and the community and it serves as a reminder to young police officers that it can happen.
"It was very traumatic to us. It eases over time, but it always stays with you," Kile said. "Some details you remember like yesterday. He (Centobie) is getting what he justly deserves."
The events
Centobie and 19-year-old Jeremy Granberry escaped custody while being transported from Parchman Prison in Mississippi to a court hearing June 25, 1998. They stole a sheriff deputy's patrol car and handgun and headed toward Tuscaloosa, where they were stopped on Interstate 359 by Tuscaloosa Police Capt. Cecil Lancaster.
Lancaster was shot twice by the suspects but was able to return fire, preventing them from running him down with the stolen car.
After stealing another car, the two continued on Interstate 20 until they reached the Moody exit.
At approximately 10:29 p.m. June 27, 1998, Turner stopped to check a suspicious vehicle. After speaking with Turner, Centobie reached back into the car as if to retrieve his driver’s license. Instead, he pulled the deputy's stolen handgun and shot Turner three times — one bullet hit his bullet resistant vest, another entered his hip, and the last struck the back of his head.
Former Moody police officer Chris Long was working patrol that same night and heard Turner tell his dispatcher where he was and that he was checking a suspicious vehicle.
"I was only a few seconds away," Long recalled. "I heard the shots. In just a few seconds your whole world can turn upside down."
Long, who now works for the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department, said he remembers every detail of that night. He was the first on the scene of the shooting and exchanged gunfire with Centobie.
He said Tuesday he was glad to see the day coming when the murderer of his friend will be executed.
"I'm glad it's coming quickly," he said. "I didn't figure it would happen until about 20 or 30 years from now."
Long said he believes Centobie's death will also bring him personal closure on one of the worst nights of his life.
"I've kind of got mixed feelings, but I'm relieved it's finally here," he said. "Even though he'll be executed, it won’t bring Keith back. I still lost a friend."
For eight days after Turner's murder, more than 750 lawmen from across the nation descended upon the Moody community in one of the largest manhunts in state history.
Granberry was quickly found, still in the Moody area. He was convicted in 1999 of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole.
He is serving his time at Holman Correctional Facility — the same prison where Centobie is to be executed.
Centobie was not captured until July 5, 1998, near Biloxi, Miss. He was still carrying the gun used to kill Turner.
Sheriff's deputy Roy Mullins was on duty the night Turner was killed and remembers spending more than seven days working 20-hour shifts.
"I was on a call at the dead end of Shoal Creek Valley Road when the call went out," he said. "I dropped everything and went straight there. They set me up on a roadblock, and I stayed there for 15 hours.
"I worked every day looking for the men who killed Keith. Finding them was just something you don't give up on. When they found Granberry, I thought, 'We're halfway there.'"
Mullins said he is also glad to see the execution date looming.
"It is different when it's someone you work with and who’s gotten you out of tight spots before," he said. "Justice will be served."
