Tomika Lee Turner

Tomika Lee Turner (d. October 16, 2019) was a mother whose family and community remembered her for kindness and care. Public records and reporting identify her as a 36-year-old Columbus resident who kept her home on East 13th Avenue and raised four children. Those closest to her described her as someone who reached out to help others — a quality that family members and supporters echoed in statements at later court proceedings.

While much of the public record about Tomika centers around the events of October 2019 and the legal process that followed, the details that are verifiable show a woman whose role as a parent and neighbor mattered to many. News accounts of the later sentencing of the person convicted in her death quoted relatives who emphasized Tomika’s generosity and compassionate spirit; one family member called her “a true example of love is what love does,” a phrase used to convey how she lived through giving and support.

Her family’s efforts after her passing — including community gatherings and fundraising to help with funeral needs reported at the time — reflect how those who loved Tomika sought to honor the everyday work she did for her children and for people around her. The public record also notes the deep pain her death brought to her family and neighborhood; at court, relatives and friends came to express their grief and to praise the warmth she brought to family life.

Because there is no family-published, standalone obituary available in the major online funeral-home or newspaper archives that exactly matches the October 16, 2019 date in public records, this remembrance focuses on verifiable facts and on honoring Tomika’s role as a mother and community-minded neighbor. It is clear from reporting and public records that she was a real person whose presence mattered to family, friends, and neighbors. Those who remember Tomika have emphasized her love for her children and a steady inclination to help others — the qualities that survivors and supporters have worked to keep alive in memorials and local remembrances.

This page acknowledges the limits of what is publicly documented and intentionally centers Tomika’s humanity: a devoted parent and a neighbor whose small acts of care left a lasting impression. Her life and the love she showed her family remain the most important memorial to her memory.