The prosecutor in the Amber Spradlin murder case called the Dec. 1 trial date for the three men charged “ambitious.” M.K. McKinney is accused of murdering Spradlin, while his father, Michael McKinney and Josh Mullins face eight charges of tampering with physical evidence, as does M.K. McKinney. Commonwealth’s Attorney Brent Turner said there’s still much to do after last Thursday’s pre-trial conference.
“There's significant amount of DNA testing still pending. That may not be here till the fall. There's going to be a necessity for expert witnesses to be retained on both sides, and the court just wanted to get an idea of where we were at in that process,” he said.
Turner said his office and Spradlin’s family want the trial to begin Dec. 1, but he’s concerned about the effect testing and expert opinions, which may require follow-ups, will have on the timeline.
Spradlin was found stabbed to death at Michael McKinney’s Floyd County home in June of 2023, but the case is being heard in Pike County – about a half-hour from the home of Spradlin’s cousin Debbie Hall. She was there for the pre-trial conference.
“We thought this day would never get here, so we're very excited about it, and we hope it does take off on December 1 like they want. But if it isn't, it's not going to be probably another 30 days or 60 days before. We've waited over two years. We can wait a little bit longer,” she said.
Hall said she and Spradlin’s other loved ones and friends want solid convictions for the accused – and maximum penalties. Defense Attorney Steve Romines did not return a call from WEKU.
