On October 28, Michael Blaine Turner Jr. was arrested by Mohave County Sheriff’s Office detectives and charged with Homicide in connection with the death of Joshua William-James Blake, 42 of Golden Valley. Blake was last seen or heard from around August 3, 2022 and was reported missing by family members on August 31, 2022.
During the course of the investigation, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office detectives learned that Turner, age 31, and Hunter McGuire, 26 of Golden Valley, had both allegedly shot and killed Joshua Blake. Blake’s body was then buried on an abandoned property located a short distance from where McGuire was living.
Turner was living in Blake’s residence, located in the 6200 block of Kingman Trail. Just days before Blake’s disappearance, there had been an argument between the two over non-payment of rent and possible eviction. Blake had also allegedly taken the blame for Turner shooting a subject at the property on June 8th, 2022 and threatened to go to the police to report Turner was the actual shooter.
Immediately following Blake’s disappearance, Turner attempted to notarize a bill of sale in an attempt to take possession of Blake’s residence. Turner was also found to be in possession of a vehicle that Blake was known to possess and drive. Turner was driving and was arrested in this vehicle on September 1st, 2022.
Turner, a prohibited possessor of firearms, was found to be in possession of a firearm and illegal narcotics during the traffic stop. Turner had been booked into the Mohave County Adult Detention Facility where he has been in custody since.
On October 26, detectives had identified the possible burial site of the victim on a property located in the area of S. Sacramento Rd. and W. Geronimo Dr. A search warrant was obtained and executed on the property. Detectives dug around the burial site and located human remains that had been buried approximately three feet down. On October 27, the remains were positively identified as Joshua Blake. The current decomposition stage of the body was consistent with the time frame of when Blake had gone missing.
Turner, who is currently in custody for unrelated charges, was additionally charged with Murder in the First Degree, and remains in the custody at the Mohave County Adult Detention Facility. Hunter McGuire, the second suspect, committed suicide after being pursued by law enforcement on October 21st, 2022, after being identified as committing multiple homicides in Kingman and Las Vegas.