Man awaiting murder trial charged with battering prison mate

A man who is waiting for a jury trial after being charged with murdering a couple on a neighbor's property has now been charged for bettering another prisoner at Sandoval County Detention Center May 10.

A grand jury indicted Elbert Turner on July 21 for murdering Marilyn Benham and Jordan Green and three counts of tampering with evidence. He is currently being held without bond while he awaits his trial, which is scheduled for December. After the new incident, aggravated battery and assault charges were filed against him.

According to a criminal complaint filed by a Sandoval County Sherriff's Office investigator, the incident was caught on video.

Turner was seen walking up the stairs to a cell and closing the cell door behind him and then goes out of view of the camera. A few moments later, he is seen hunched over someone wearing a white T-shirt, who then maneuvers out from under him.

The victim, another prisoner, said he was asleep on the bottom bunk when his cell door opened and someone jumped him. He said Turner was strangling him, using both arms to push down on the victim's throat and into the metal railing of the bed. The victim was yelling for help and telling Turner to get off of him. When he did, he tried to exit the cell, but Turner jumped on his back and again began to strangle him. The victim started swinging his arms so Turner let go.

Outside the cell, the two confronted each other. The victim said Turner told him he looks like the man he murdered and that he has plenty of time. The victim asked Turner what he meant by that. Turner said he would kill him, too.

The new charges could add five more years to Turner's sentence.