DNA Backlog Delays High-Profile Eastern Kentucky Murder Trial

DNA Backlog Delays High-Profile Eastern Kentucky Murder Trial

A Pike County judge on Nov. 7 granted a prosecutor's request to postpone the Dec. 1 trial of 25-year-old Michael "M.K." McKinney III so the state crime lab can complete DNA testing on evidence related to the June 2023 stabbing death of 38-year-old Amber Spradlin.

Judge Eddy Coleman agreed the absence of DNA results would be "the equivalent to a missing witness," and said a continuance serves the interests of both parties because outstanding evidence could either strengthen the prosecution's case or be exculpatory for the defense.

Spradlin was found in June 2023 with 11 stab wounds at the McKinney family home on Arkansas Creek Road in Floyd County. A restaurant hostess who had been raised by her grandparents after her mother was murdered when she was young, Spradlin's death stunned the community and has drawn sustained attention as the investigation and legal proceedings continue.

According to a Nov. 5 forensic lab filing, items recovered from the scene — including the T-shirt, pants and some undergarments Spradlin was wearing, plus a pair of shorts and a towel — tested positive for traces of human blood but have not yet undergone DNA analysis. Prosecutors say at least 33 items remain pending DNA testing, including swabs from furniture, doors, bedsheets, flooring and pieces of trash, such as a trash bag and a garbage can recovered inside the home.

A grand jury indicted McKinney last year on murder and eight counts of tampering with evidence. Prosecutors allege McKinney, his father Michael K. McKinney II, 57, and a third defendant, Josh Mullins, 25, cleaned the scene and discarded M.K. McKinney's clothing and the alleged murder weapon. The elder McKinney and Mullins face eight tampering counts each but have not been charged with Spradlin's killing; proceedings against both were also paused pending DNA testing.

Spradlin's family has filed a civil lawsuit alleging negligence by the city, its police department and the Floyd County Fiscal Court after an initial 911 call placed before the stabbing allegedly went unanswered. The complaint and prosecutors say M.K. McKinney placed that first call when his father intervened, and that the father later called the then-city police chief in a call that was not recorded. According to the suit, first responders arrived only after a second 911 call; oral arguments in the civil case are scheduled for early next year.

The defense has repeatedly objected to continuances, asserting McKinney's right to a speedy trial and arguing that investigative shortcomings should not be held against him. Defense attorneys also note earlier prosecutor statements describing strong DNA evidence and contend the state's later request for more time suggests an evolving theory of the case. Attorney Randy O'Neal said the defense was prepared to begin in December and urged that the dispute be resolved in court rather than on social media. M.K. McKinney is jailed in Floyd County on $5 million bail; his attorney Steven Romines filed a renewed motion Oct. 28 seeking a bond reduction and proposing house arrest.

Commonwealth Attorney Brent Turner has cautioned against rushing to trial while key evidence remains untested, noting the state anticipated the crime lab would finish testing by mid-November but that many items still awaited DNA analysis. The lab must first screen certain items to confirm the presence of blood before proceeding to DNA testing, a process slowed by reported understaffing and backlogs at the state crime lab in Frankfort.

Mark Wohlander, attorney for Spradlin's family, said the family supports the continuance so the final evidence can be properly processed and reviewed before any jury hears the case.