Virginia's Wanda Kaye Turner has embezzlement conviction overturned on appeal

The Virginia (VA) Court of Appeals reversed the embezzlement conviction of Wanda Kaye Turner, a Hanover County dental office employee, on procedural grounds, holding that the prosecution had failed to establish proper venue at trial. The three-judge panel — composed of Chief Judge Moon and Judges Willis and Elder — ruled that because venue was not proven, the indictment had to be dismissed regardless of the underlying evidence.

Turner had been convicted in Hanover County Circuit Court of embezzling from her dental employer. On appeal, she contended both that the trial court erred in denying her motion to strike the evidence and that venue had not been established by the Commonwealth. The court declined to reach the evidentiary question, ruling instead that the failure to prove venue required reversal and dismissal. The October 1997 opinion confirmed that venue is an element the prosecution must affirmatively establish and cannot be assumed from surrounding circumstances.