Two musicians affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan were shot dead in the early hours of Tuesday in Portland, Oregon, with a family member believing they were “assassinated” over “jealousy, lust, hate, and greed.”
Brooklyn Zu rappers Odion Turner, known as 12 O’Clock, and his cousin David Turner, known as Murdock, were reportedly sitting in a parked RV trailer when a stranger knocked on the door and asked for a cigarette, Odion’s brother Stephon Turner told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
But when David, 45, opened the door, the gunman opened fire on the men. Another of Odion’s brothers was also reportedly inside the trailer and quickly hit the floor to dodge the spray of bullets.
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A nearby home surveillance tape of the incident obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive recorded nearly 20 gunshots and a car speeding away from the crime scene at around 5:20 a.m. A trail of blood is said to have led into a nearby house and a bullet-riddled minivan was left on the street.
Three people were taken to the hospital in an ambulance, according to Portland police. A fourth person with life-threatening injuries was later taken to the hospital in a private vehicle. So far, law enforcement has released few details about the double homicide and no arrests have been made yet.
The Turners are cousins of the late legendary rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, real name Russell Jones, a founding member of the famed Wu-Tang Clan. He also formed the rap posse Brooklyn Zu, with 12 O’Clock and Murdock performing on his song “Protect Ya Neck II the Zoo.”
Odion’s brother Stephon told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he is devastated over their deaths, saying he believes they were killed over “jealousy, lust, hate, and greed.” “It hasn’t hit me yet,” he added. “The whole world is missing them right now. It’s a tragedy.”
But Odion Turner’s wife, Princhesca Rainier Turner, told The Daily Beast that she’s still not sure what led to the shooting. “Honestly, I don’t have answers,” she said.
“There’s a lot of emotions right now,” she added, explaining that she was hearing differing stories about possible motives for the shooting. “People are very emotional. It could be, but I just don’t think I have enough information right now to say that’s what it was. I understand where Stephon is coming from, I do, but I’m not 100 percent convinced that it wasn’t random.”
Still in the dark about the specifics as to what happened, Princhesca said she is planning to travel to Portland from Florida this weekend to meet with detectives face-to-face.
The next step, Princhesca said, was getting arrangements sorted for the funeral, saying it was likely there would be services held for the cousins in the Northwest and New York, but that Odion’s remains would come back to Florida with her.
She also confirmed that her husband died on the same day that their daughter gave birth to a baby boy.
“How could one day bring so much joy and so much pain,” Princhesca had written in a Facebook post. “I just can’t [w]rap my head around this. My heart doesn’t know how to separate being empty and full at the same time. Happy Birthday Seven, Grandma loves you so much! Your Grandpa was so anxious to see you. My heart aches that couldn’t happen. Divine, our baby and her baby are doing good. You were right, he looks just like her. RIP Divine and Murdock Love you both. Always and Forever.”
On Tuesday, the late Wu-Tang Clan rapper’s son, Young Dirty Bastard, also confirmed his relatives’ deaths. “Rip 12 O’Clock. Rip Murdock,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “They Were My Fathers Tightest blood bonds. My Two Older cousins was just assassinated. Love Yalll. Blood Forever. Brooklyn Zu.”
David Turner’s son Divine also mourned the loss of his father, posting on Instagram that he was out of town and learned over the phone that “they murdered my father.” “I don’t know what to do, he added, captioning the post, “They assassinated my father in #Oregon.”
