An Arizona man accused of killing his 17-year-old stepdaughter, Alissa Turney, who has been missing since 2001, is ACQUITED at trial after the judge rules there is insufficient evidence, and the heartbroken family collapses in court of the court.

An Arizona man accused of killing his 17-year-old stepdaughter, Alissa Turney, is free after a judge acquitted him of all charges for lack of evidence in the case.

Michael Turney, 75, breathed a sigh of relief as shocked family members awaiting justice broke down in tears as judgment was delivered in a Maricopa County courtroom Monday morning after just a week of testimony.

Turney was tried on second-degree murder charges in the alleged death of his stepdaughter, who disappeared in May 2001 after reportedly leaving a note that she was running away to California. Alissa has never been found.

Prosecutors argued that Turney and Alissa have a turbulent relationship and that he had hundreds of surveillance tapes of her in an attempt to control her life. But the defense backed down, saying there is no evidence that she is dead.

After the prosecution upheld their case, the judge granted the defense’s motion to dismiss the murder charges against Turney, citing rule 20, which allows the court to issue an acquittal if ‘there is no substantial evidence to justify a conviction’.

Alissa’s half-sister and Turney’s own daughter, Sarah Turney, who was a key witness in the trial and whose social media campaign for justice helped get him arrested in 2020, left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

Alissa, pictured, was last seen in May 2001 at her north Phoenix home after the last day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School. Her body has never been found.

Earlier Monday, the defense had asked the judge to issue an acquittal based on what they called a lack of evidence, arguing that there was insufficient evidence that Alissa ran away or evidence that she is even dead.

Alissa was last seen in May 2001 at her Phoenix home on the last day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School.

She had told her boyfriend at school that her stepfather was picking her up for lunch. Michael Turney reported her missing but told authorities he left a note saying she was running away to California.

Alissa has never been found.

In 2008, investigators re-interviewed witnesses and ended up issuing search warrants at Turney’s home. The search led to the discovery of more than two dozen unregistered pipe bombs belonging to Turney. He served time for those crimes and was released in 2017.

Alissa’s sister, Sarah Turney, who has tried to keep the spotlight on the case via social media, testified against her own father last week, telling the court how he allegedly brainwashed her into thinking Alissa she was a rebellious teenager who ran away to California.

But over the years, Sarah said she grew suspicious of her own father, and since her interpretations of what happened that day changed each time, it led her to seek her own answers.

When she met her father in 2017 and pressed him for an explanation, he didn’t.

“He told me he would tell me on his deathbed,” Sarah recalled, adding that he would confess to everything if the state agreed to give him a lethal injection within 10 days.

He also spoke in court about the troubled relationship between Turney and Alissa.

Sarah was just 12 years old when her sister Alissa disappeared on the last day of school in May 2001. It was her campaign for justice on social media years later that led to the arrest of her own father Michael Turney in 2020, despite the fact that she never a body was found. found

Michael Turney is on trial for second-degree murder in the death of his 17-year-old stepdaughter Alissa Turney, who has been missing since May 2001 when he picked her up early from school.

Alissa, 17, was last seen on May 17, 2001. She is presumed dead, but her body has never been found.

Michael Turney, 75, has been charged with second-degree murder in the alleged death of his 17-year-old stepdaughter Alissa Turney, who disappeared in 2001. Pictured: Turney is wheeled around during opening remarks at Maricopa County Courthouse in Phoenix on July 6.

When police executed search warrants at the home in 2008, they found videotapes dating to the 1980s, including surveillance footage of the home, but found no video of the day she disappeared.

In opening statements last week, the prosecution revealed how Turney had been filming Alissa at her home and how he had hundreds of surveillance videos of her.

Turney he also tapped Alissa’s phone and allegedly forced her to sign a contract stating that he never sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.

The jury later heard from John Turney, Alissa’s half-brother, and James Turney, Alissa’s stepbrother. But a judge ruled that the jury could not hear James’ testimony that Alissa confided in him about an alleged incident in which Turney put his hand on her leg, allegedly attempted something, causing her to run screaming.

The defense has argued that there is no DNA or blood evidence to show that Turney killed Alissa. They also noted that without a body, there is no definitive proof that Alissa is not still alive.

Sarah shared disturbing home videos on social media and started a podcast called ‘Voices for Justice’, which started as a platform for Alissa and later became a means to help other victims.

Sarah Turney is pictured with her father, celebrating her 18th birthday at Disneyland.

In May 2020, he began making TikTok videos focused on the case.

In 2019, she started her own podcast, ‘Voices for Justice,’ detailing her family history, the events leading up to Alissa’s disappearance, and a timeline of what happened in the years since.

In May 2020, he began making TikTok videos focused on the case.

“Believe it or not, it has become a major outlet for Alissa’s story,” he told NBC.

“I received more interest in this case from that application in the last month than in the last 10 years.

‘This is not going to go away and I will make sure it never does. I still think of her as my tough older sister who taught me to be strong.

Now, I need to stay strong and use that to fight for the justice that she deserves.

‘She deserves her day in court. And I’m determined to give him that.