Gabriel Turios Trial Opens In Sevier County

The trial began yesterday in Sevier County for the young man accused of killing a co-worker over two years ago. Gabriel Turcios is accused of stabbing 20 year old Savannah Burford outside the Sunliner Diner in Pigeon Forge on January 8, 2020. The two were co-workers at the diner and Savannah Burford had complained to her employer that Turcios had been stalking her. Prosecutors say that Turcios followed Burford that night and attacked her with a knife when she exited the diner from work at around 8:40pm. At the trial Wednesday, Dr. William Oliver, who performed Burford’s autopsy, testified that Savannah Burford had approximately 17 stab wounds to her neck and chest as well as a wound to her brain that “would have been fatal.” Prosecutors showed jurors video footage of the attack. Turcios is charged with first degree murder. His defense attorneys are claiming he was insane at the time of the attack, a claim that prosecutors say is not true.