Killer of Moroccan Immigrant Will Likely Get Probation

Adil Dghoughi’s brother Othmane (l) and mother Fatiha, holding a photo of Adil during a 2021 press conference (Photo by John Anderson)

The family and supporters of Adil Dghoughi are devastated. Dghoughi, a Moroccan immigrant living in Austin, was shot to death by Martindale resident Terry Turner southwest of Austin in October of 2021.

Last Thursday, the 67-year-old Turner was found guilty of manslaughter in the killing – but not murder. The next day, a Caldwell County jury gave Turner a 10-year suspended sentence (a mix of probation and jail time) instead of the two-to-twenty years behind bars they could have handed down.

Caldwell County judge Chris Schneider will determine in the coming weeks how much of the suspended sentence Turner will serve as probation. Turner was also fined $10,000.

Adil’s mother, Fatiha Haouass, and his brother, Othmane Dghoughi, held each other and wept outside the Caldwell County courthouse after the sentence was announced. “We’re not shocked, to be honest with you,” Othmane said. “Turner killed my brother with a cold-blooded execution and they didn't want to arrest him, even though they knew the evidence that my brother didn’t have a gun. So we were not expecting too much, since this place is corrupt.”

Adil Dghoughi was killed on Oct. 11, 2021, after the 31-year-old parked in Turner’s driveway outside the small town of Martindale, just east of San Marcos, at 3:30am. Turner testified at trial that he woke to use the bathroom that night, saw Dghoughi’s car, grabbed a pistol, and charged out to confront the driver. As he did, Dghoughi accelerated in reverse and turned backwards into the street. Turner said he came to the driver’s side window and fired a bullet through it, into Dghoughi’s brain. He told investigators afterward that he saw a gun pointed at him before he shot. No gun or other weapon was found on the scene.

In 2021, Martindale mayor pro tem Sonja Villalobos told us the initial account she read after the shooting led her to conclude that “somebody was trying to do something at this house.” But Turner’s statement to police wasn’t consistent with self-defense. He described Dghoughi as fleeing from him. The racial dynamics of the case – an older, white Texan killing an unarmed, brown immigrant – raised questions as well. When Caldwell County authorities still hadn’t arrested Turner a week after the killing, Othmane and members of the social justice group Mano Amiga held a candlelit vigil to draw attention to the case. CNN and other media outlets began asking D.A. Fred Weber about it. Turner was arrested eleven days after the shooting.

Othmane said he believes it was only because of his requests to the media, and those of Dghoughi’s girlfriend, Sarah Todd, that charges were filed at all. “I’ve had to fight since day one,” Othmane said in his remarks outside the courtroom. “When my brother was in the hospital, I didn’t have time to spend next to him. Why? Because I had to fight to do what the courts should have done, to get [Turner] indicted and put in jail. I had to go and expose him to the media. The only reason this was done was because they had so much pressure. They would have never indicted him.”

Members of Mano Amiga share Othmane’s skepticism about the fairness of Caldwell County’s handling of Dghoughi’s killing. “White privilege has prevailed,” said Sam Benavides, one of the group’s leaders. “It’s painfully obvious. It’s been there since the beginning, throughout the entire process.”

Othmane told the Chronicle that he is so discouraged he is considering leaving College Station, where he has lived for a decade, and returning to Morocco. He had vowed not to visit his brother’s grave there until he had secured justice for him. Now, he said he will ask forgiveness.

“I’ve been strong but I haven’t been strong enough and I ask forgiveness from my brother because I should have done better,” Othmane said as Fatiha pulled on his arm and said, “No.” “But I cannot fight with the whole county. I cannot fight with the whole corrupt system here. I ask forgiveness from my brother and that’s all.”