Dad of murdered Emily creates 'Death' podcast

A SPECIAL podcast about coping with grief has been made by the father of a murdered Brockenhurst College student.

Mark Longley is behind the three-episode podcast called Death, which details what he experienced after the loss of his daughter Emily in 2011 and is designed to help others mourn. Emily, who was from New Zealand, was just 17 when she was killed by boyfriend Elliot Turner.

The aspiring model was strangled to death by the self-professed playboy – who was 20 at the time – at his Bournemouth home. He subsequently stood trial over the murder at Winchester Crown Court, was found guilty and is currently serving a life sentence which carries a minimum term of 16 years.

His parents, Leigh and Anita Turner, were also both convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice by destroying a confession note and removing a jacket from the scene. They were each given 27 months in prison.

Emily, who was British born, emigrated to New Zealand with her parents Mark and Caroline and sister Hannah when she was younger. But she returned to the UK for a business diploma course at Brockenhurst and was staying at her grandparents’ home in Southbourne.

Available on iTunes and Spotify, the podcast states: “This three-part series tells the story of Emily’s life, and her death. It examines death and its impact on us – how we mourn, how

we cope, how we treat the grieving.

“We’ve interviewed people who have lost parents and partners, grandparents and children, and talked to friends, colleagues and academics to figure out why grief is so hard to process, why we are so awkward around those who are in pain, and what can we do to help people through it.”

The three episodes are entitled Death, Grief and Hope. In one episode Mark describes how friends at one time completely avoided the subject of Emily when around him, adding he had also been guilty of doing similar with others.

“It struck me as odd – why are we so awkward around death? Why do we find talking about death so hard? Why are we clumsy around people who are grieving?” Mark said.

“We are all going to die, not all of us at a ripe old age, but it still remains a huge social taboo in many western societies.

“Death is going to come to us all, so this is a podcast for everyone, whether you are experiencing grief or know someone who is. We talk about death and loss, but also love and hope.”