PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — A response filed Wednesday in the Amber Spradlin murder case is providing the public with its first look at the evidence against M.K. McKinney, the man accused of killing her.
Spradlin’s body was found at the McKinney family home on June 18, 2023. It has been previously reported that she had been stabbed at least 11 times in the head and neck, but the new filing references the autopsy report to increase that number to at least 12 times.
McKinney has been charged with her murder. He, his father Dr. Michael McKinney, and family friend Josh Mullins are also charged with eight counts of evidence tampering for allegedly trying to cover up the crime.
Two weeks ago, M.K. McKinney’s attorney, Steven Romines, filed a motion to reduce his client’s $5 million bond. On Wednesday afternoon, Commonwealth’s Attorney Brent Turner filed a response to that motion. Copies of that response are not yet publicly available, but Spradlin’s cousin, Dr. Debbie Hall, posted a copy of the response on social media. Mountain Top News has confirmed the document’s authenticity with Turner.
In requesting a lower bond, Romines provided an alternate theory of the case, painting Spradlin’s friend, Roy Kidd, as a potential suspect in the crime. Romines bases his theory on evidence that Kidd was intoxicated and belligerent in the hours before Spradlin’s death, and that he had blood on his clothing.
But in his response to that motion, Turner says testing of the blood on Kidd’s clothing revealed only his blood, lining up with his statements that he had fallen and cut himself while in a drunken state.
But Turner also provides additional evidence that not only exculpates Kidd, but implicates M.K. McKinney. He notes in the motion that investigators were able to obtain skin cells from underneath Spradlin’s fingernails, an indication she fought back against her attacker.
Turner says in the filing that DNA testing of the skin cells indicated they came from a man, and a specific type of test for male DNA showed that, of the people in the house at the time Spradlin was killed, those cells could only have come from either of the McKinneys. He then provided photographs which he said were taken of M.K. McKinney’s arm, showing scratch marks. Michael McKinney had no such marks.
Beyond the DNA evidence, Turner provides additional evidence that he says shows Michael McKinney had more knowledge of Spradlin’s death than he should have, based on accounts of the discovery of her body. According to multiple statements, Kidd was believed to have discovered the body and went to Michael McKinney’s bedroom to ask him to call 911. By Kidd’s account, Michael McKinney did not come out of his bedroom and didn’t get a look at Spradlin except from behind the couch she was found sitting on. Despite that, he told the 911 dispatcher that Spradlin had been murdered and that her throat had been cut.
“He was correct,” Turner writes in his motion. “The problem is that none of these injuries were visible or at all apparent upon observing the body at the scene. Because Amber Spradlin’s body was leaning back into the couch with her chin pushed forward, you cannot see any injuries to her neck. In fact, the authorities who responded to the scene, along with the deputy coroner, all believed that she had died from some sort of hemorrhage or other medical event. It was not until many hours later when the victim’s body was examined at the coroner’s office that the injuries to her neck were able to be observed. Apparently, the Defendant Michael McKinney II knew the exact nature of the victim’s injuries even though they were not discernible to anyone else at the scene.”
Turner also provided a transcript of McKinney’s 911 call in his response, which is reprinted below (warning: foul language):
Turner also provides additional information that has until this point been unknown publicly or unconfirmed. That information includes:
- Michael McKinney placed an eight-minute phone call to former Prestonsburg Police Chief Randy Woods, before calling 911. When police questioned Woods about that call, Turner says, he would only say that he advised him to call 911.
- Evidence of M.K. McKinney’s treatment for depression and suicidal ideation, as well as a witness statement that he pulled a knife at a previous party at the McKinney home and threatened to “kill everybody.”
- Kidd’s account of a conversation between him and M.K. McKinney in the hours before the murder, during which McKinney spoke of his depression and suicidal thoughts, and that “dark voices” were “taking control” of him. Turner also said he could provide sealed copies of McKinney’s mental health records, which he said show a lengthy history of treatment for suicidal ideation and anger management.
- Inconsistencies in Michael McKinney’s statement to several people that M.K. McKinney left “during the night.” Turner provided photographs of his truck leaving the house at 8:30 a.m. and arriving in Morehead shortly before 10 a.m.
All three defendants are scheduled to appear in court at 2 p.m., Thursday, for a pretrial conference. During that hearing, Special Judge Eddy Coleman will consider the motion for bond reduction and other matters. Mountain Top News plans to livestream that hearing on Mountain Top TV, the Mountain Top TV app, and the Mountain Top News Facebook page.
A copy of Turner’s full response is reprinted below:
