PEORIA, AZ (AZFamily) — Prosecutors say Jonathan Turk’s parents tried to get him help three times this year. He’s accused of murdering them back on March 31.
Jonathan Turk remains behind bars, charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Scott and Tina Turk at their Peoria home. But advocates who knew the family say the case was preventable.
“I was not surprised at all. We’ve seen this story before,” said Rachel Streiff.
Streiff and Crystal Fox started the group Arizona MAD Moms after navigating the state’s mental health system themselves.
“I go back to how hard I tried to get my son help. Seven agencies. Each time I tried to get him help it became more and more dangerous for me,” Fox said.
Hospital bed shortage cited
Streiff said Jonathan Turk’s parents joined support groups and tried to navigate the system for years.
“We know Jonathan was kind, intelligent. He went to college. He was athletic. He was a good man in a good family with good parents,” Streiff said.
According to court documents, Turk told detectives he murdered his parents with a hammer and a knife because he got mad at them for putting him on medication. During his initial appearance, prosecutors said he had a long history of mental health problems.
“He has multiple prior mental health petitions, including three in 2026,” a prosecutor said in court.
Streiff and Fox said individuals are approved for court-ordered evaluation based on their symptoms, but the state does not have enough hospital beds for those with severe mental illness.
According to the state, at the start of 2026, there were nearly 63,000 people diagnosed with severe mental illness enrolled in Medicaid. But fewer than 300 state hospital beds were available for this population.
“Families, caregivers, the public are all placed in harm’s way because these individuals should be in hospitals but they’re out in the community,” Streiff said.
Fox said Jonathan Turk’s parents did everything they could.
“They sacrificed their lives for the community and the system, and the system failed. It wasn’t their family that failed,” Fox said.
Arizona MAD Moms is fighting to get those with severe mental illness and their families more resources. The group currently has two bills making their way through the legislature.
Turk is being held on a $2 million bond.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Do you have a story you want us to investigate? Tell us about it by contacting us.
Copyright 2026 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.