PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — No trial date has yet been set for the three men charged in connection to the death of Amber Spradlin, but defense attorneys are already working to free their clients.
Spradlin’s body was found June 18, 2023, at the Arkansas Creek home of Prestonsburg dentist Michael McKinney. Court records indicate she was killed on the living room couch and died of multiple stab wounds to the head, neck and upper torso.
McKinney’s son, M.K. McKinney, 24, of Martin, is charged with her murder. Both McKinneys and a third man, Josh Mullins, 23, of Martin, are all charged with seven counts of complicity to tamper with physical evidence over allegations that they cleaned the scene and destroyed video evidence from the home’s security camera system.
MOTION TO DISMISS
Now M.K. McKinney’s attorney, Randy Martin O’Neal, of Richmond, has filed a motion to toss the case out over allegations that authorities did not follow proper procedures in obtaining the indictment.
In a motion to dismiss the indictment filed on Monday, O’Neal claims the indictment was not returned in open court as required and the secrecy of grand jury proceedings was violated.
For the breach of secrecy claim, O’Neal included a social media post from Spradlin’s cousin, Debbie Hall, in which she wrote that she had known the case would be presented to the grand jury two weeks beforehand. He also notes that law enforcement and media were already in place for the arrests prior to the indictment being returned.
O’Neal claims the alleged errors are so significant that the only remedy to correct them is by dismissing the case.
MOTIONS FOR BOND REDUCTION
O’Neal and Mullins’ attorney, Whitney Rowe, of Lexington, have also filed motions seeking to have their clients’ bonds reduced.
M.K. McKinney is currently being held on a $5 million full cash bond, while Mullins is being held on a $100,000 full cash bond. Dr. McKinney is currently under home incarceration after posting a $250,000 cash bond.
O’Neal and Rowe argue that the bonds set for their clients is excessive. Rowe asks that Mullins be allowed to post 10 percent of a $5,000 bond, while O’Neal simply asks that M.K. McKinney’s bond be set to a figure more in line with other defendants facing similar charges. He notes that the bond for Lance Storz, the man who killed three police officers and a K-9 unit in Allen in 2022, was only set for $1 million.
Prosecutors have not yet filed a response to any of the motions.
Special Judge Eddy Coleman has scheduled a hearing to consider all pending motions for Aug. 19.
