This podcast details true crime cases.

It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence.

It is not intended for children.

Listener discretion is advised.

Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

We're starting off September with a new series called Bad Teacher.

As we enter into the new school year, I'm reminded of all the great teachers I've had over the years.

I would imagine that many of you as well may have been fortunate enough to have had a special teacher or teachers

who would encourage you, inspire you, and perhaps even challenge you with a gift of learning.

Educators are some of the most hardworking and dedicated people we encounter in our lives,

and might I say some of the very best people I know are teachers.

But the stories I'm going to share with you this month are not about those good teachers.

No, I'll be sharing cases of teachers who for various reasons went bad and committed crimes from fraud to sexual misconduct and even murder.

On this week's episode, I'll tell you about a grade school teacher who was well respected by her peers and loved by her students.

But an inappropriate infatuation with a very young student would lead her to make decisions that would scandalize not only her community, but the entire nation.

This is chapter one of Bad Teacher, the case of Mary Kayla Turnow.

It was a warm summer evening on June 18, 1996, when a Des Moines Washington police officer was patrolling the area near the Marina.

Des Moines, a town with a population of less than 30,000, is located on the east shore of Puget Sound, about halfway between two of Washington state's largest cities, Seattle and Tacoma.

It is normally a quiet town, even during the summer months, and on a Tuesday night like this one, there was little to concern the patrol officer on his normal patrol route.

As he passed by the Marina parking lot, the officer noticed a vehicle that seemed out of place.

It was one of the only cars on the lot, and he could make out some movement from inside the vehicle.

He decided to check it out, thinking it might be some teenagers kicking off their school summer break by finding us included parking lot to drink or smoke weed.

...