Bank of America Executive found dead, colleague charged with murder

Michelle Avan, a senior vice president at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch veteran, was found dead in her Reseda, California home last week. At BofA, Avan was known as an advocate for women and other underrepresented talent.

The cause of Avan’s death is currently unknown, the Los Angeles Times reported, but the city’s police took her colleague, Anthony Duane Turner, into custody for the crime. Los Angeles police found Avan beaten with severe injuries to her face and pronounced her dead at the scene on August 4th, according to local news reports.

Turner was charged with one felony count of murder and one count of first-degree residential burglary on August 5th, and his bail is set at $2 million, local news outlets reported.

Turner also worked at Bank of America and Merrill, according to his BrokerCheck profile, which shows no disclosures. It is unclear whether he is still employed at the company. BofA could not be reached at the time of publication.

“We are devastated,” Bank of America told the LA Times in a statement. “Michelle was a valued member of our company for more than 20 years and will be greatly missed. We extend our deepest sympathies to her family.”

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Avan was named as one of the top professionals in their 40s by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2020. She was also recognized by the Los Angeles Sentinel as one of the city’s Powerful and Influential Black Women Leaders, according to her LinkedIn profile. She had taken a new role as Head of Global Women’s and Under-represented Talent Strategy just this June, the Sentinel reported at the time.

In a 2017 interview with Essence, Avan described how she went from a 19-year-old receptionist at Dean Witter, working to support her young family, to a top supervision executive at Merrill Lynch, where she helped oversee the western region. She emphasized her dedication to helping young women, especially Black women.

“One of my mantras is, ‘To whom much is given, much is required,’” Avan told Essence in the interview. “I have an obligation to do something with all this power and privilege that I have been given.