Minneapolis families protest plea deal for double murderer

The families of two murder victims in Minneapolis are expressing outrage following a plea deal that allows Marquez Hill-Turnipseed, 24, to serve sentences for two separate killings concurrently.

Hill-Turnipseed pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 2022 drive-by shooting of Eloe Lomax and the 2025 killing of Stageina Whiting at Boom Island Park. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office negotiated a single 40-year sentence. Because the sentences run concurrently rather than consecutively, the two murders are effectively treated as one for sentencing purposes.

Under Minnesota law, Hill-Turnipseed could be eligible for release after serving approximately two-thirds of his sentence, potentially around age 50. The victims' families, including Tasha Blanks and Talanda Burks, argued that the separate lives taken deserved individual justice and separate trials, stating that the consolidated punishment fails to acknowledge the distinct devastation caused to each family.