‘Kill or Be Killed’: A Model’s Story of Her Boyfriend’s Death Raises Big Questions [Sneak Peek]

Was it self-defense, or was it murder? That’s the question at the heart of Oxygen True Crime’s Kill or Be Killed, which explores real and complex cases where the killer claims they had no choice but to kill. But not every perpetrator is genuinely innocent. While some might have resorted to violence in a desperate act of self-preservation, others are trying to cover up a vicious crime. 

The May 18 episode of Kill or Be Killed digs into the case of a cosplay model named Melissa Turner who makes a frantic 911 call after she finds her boyfriend stabbed to death outside their home. Surveillance footage points detectives to the perpetrator, but the circumstances that led to his death are murky. 

Did a cosplay model really kill her boyfriend?

In an exclusive clip, a woman named Stephanie Neal recounts a conversation she and Melissa had after Melissa was released on bail. 

On the night her boyfriend Matthew Trussler died, he had told Melissa he was going to kill himself, according to Stephanie. 

“He did something that made her scared enough to try to grab the knife from him,” Stephanie says. “She had a big cut on her palm where she grabbed the blade. At some point, he starts to choke her. She hits her head. She hits him on the back a couple of times with the knife.”

“He lets her go, and then he cut himself in the kitchen, crawled out the window and bled out” she continues. 

A forensic investigation yields surprising evidence

After the altercation with Matthew, an injured Melissa “staggered to her office chair and passed out,” Melissa’s attorney John Trevana says in the clip.

Police investigating the scene uncovered some surprising evidence. They did find blood on the chair in the office. But it belonged only to Melissa, not to her boyfriend. 

“It wasn’t a mixture,” Trevana says. “It was Melissa Turner’s blood on the chair in the area where her head could have been laying. She did get whacked in the head.” 

Stephanie confirms that she felt a bump on her friend’s head. But when she asked Melissa if she’d sought medical attention, she said she had not. 

That lack of medical records for Melissa on the night in question would prove to be an important issue in the case. 

“If the police had given her medical treatment, we would have probably had some more supportive evidence,” Trevana says. “But we were limited to the blood spot.” 

Kill or Be Killed airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Oxygen True Crime. 

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