Mother of Slain Moroccan Man Sues Texas Shooter in Federal Court

Fatiha Haouass filed a complaint for homicide against her son Adil Dghoughi’s killer, Terry Duane Turner, 66, in a federal court this week, reports the Austin American-Statesman. She is seeking compensation for all damages, including the loss of her son, and her past and future mental anguish at having lost her son. Terry had been indicted on February 9, 2022 for first-degree murder of Adil Dghoughi.

According to the police, he had shot the 30-year-old as he was backing out of the driveway around 3:40 a.m. on October 11 near Turner’s residence in Martindale, a small town of less than 1,000 inhabitants located about 40 km southwest of Austin. "I just killed a man," Terry had told a 911 dispatcher after the shooting. "He started running and I ran after him. He pointed a gun at me and I shot." Terry pleaded self-defense. But the investigators’ statements contradicted him. They said they had found no firearm inside Adil’s vehicle.

"Dghoughi came to the United States in 2012 from Morocco in search of a better education," his mother, Fatiha Haouass, told the Austin American-Statesman. He attended Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island and earned a master’s degree in business administration and finance, she added. The 30-year-old had moved to Austin and was looking for a job as a financial analyst. According to his family, he had several job interviews before his death. "He was just looking for a better life," the deceased’s mother summarized.