Son of Kentucky dentist charged in year-old killing; dentist charged with hiding evidence

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (AP) — The son of a Kentucky dentist has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of a woman whose body was found in the dentist’s home over a year ago.

The body of 38-year-old Amber Spradlin was found in the home of Floyd County dentist Dr. Michael McKinney in June 2023 after she had spent a night out with friends. Spradlin had been stabbed 11 times, news outlets reported.

McKinney’s son, Michael “MK” McKinney III, 24, was arrested at a restaurant this week in eastern Kentucky and charged with murder, court records show. Both father and son are charged with seven counts of evidence tampering at the crime scene. According to the indictment, that included removal or destruction of the younger McKinney’s clothes, a security camera, a computer hard drive and a knife handle. Prosecutors said in court this week that the dentist orchestrated the cleanup of bloody clothing, WLEX-TV reported.

A third man, Josh Mullins, was also charged with evidence tampering.

The McKinneys and Mullins pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday. Bail for the son was set at $5 million; the dentist’s bond was set at $250,000. An attorney for Michael McKinney III did not respond Friday morning to an email message seeking comment.

Brent Turner, the state prosecutor handling the case, said investigators “had to move heaven and earth” to get forensics results from the crime scene. He said they were delayed by long-standing backlogs in evidence processing at the Kentucky State Police forensic lab.