Kentucky dentist and son arrested after woman found murdered in his home; her family sues police for murder

A Kentucky dentist and his son face charges after an employee at the family restaurant was found stabbed to death in the elderly man's home.

Now the woman's family is looking for answers.

Amber Spradlin, 39, was found dead on a couch in the Prestonsburg home of dentist Michael McKinney II, 56, on June 18, 2023, with multiple stab wounds to the head and neck.

McKinney II and another man, 23-year-old Josh Mullins, both pleaded not guilty to charges of tampering with evidence at the scene of her death. The Kentucky dentist was released on $250,000 bail, court records show.

The dentist's son, 24-year-old Michael McKinney III, was also arrested on July 30 and charged with murder and multiple counts of tampering with evidence. He is being held on $5 million bail, court records show.

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According to court documents, all three men were additionally charged with evidence tampering on August 14.

The McKinneys' lawyers were not immediately available for comment.

Prosecutors allege that after Spradlin's death, the McKinneys and Mullins destroyed bloody clothing, the handle of a knife used in the killing and a surveillance camera that recorded the woman's murder.

The prosecution also accuses the three men of having stuck a knife into the sofa on which Spradlin was stabbed in order to “create the impression that it was the murder weapon”.

Meanwhile, Spradlin's family has filed a civil lawsuit against the county, the city of Prestonsburg, its police department, McKinney and his son Mullins, the Seasons Inn Motel and Restaurant and a number of others.

The lawsuit accuses law enforcement of negligence and obstruction of justice, and claims Spradlin's death could have been prevented if a welfare check had been conducted after two 911 calls. It also accuses Prestonsburg police of failing to adequately train its 911 dispatchers, and claims Spradlin's murder was not reported until “after attempts had already been made to cover up the crime.”

The circumstances of Spradlin's death are still unclear and authorities have not yet announced a possible motive, NBC News reported.

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The night before her death, Amber Spradlin had worked as a hostess at a McKinney family restaurant. She was found dead in the home of Michael McKinney II. (Amber Spradlin on Facebook)

In the weeks before her death, Spradlin's cousin told NBC that the woman had worked as a hostess at a restaurant owned by the McKinney family. The last time Debbie Hall spoke to her cousin, she told the news outlet, was the day before her death.

She had texted Spradlin at 11:30 p.m. on June 17, asking if the restaurant hostess had gotten off work and got home safely. Spradlin replied that she was still working, and Hall told her to “be careful on the way home,” NBC reported.

According to the family's lawsuit, Spradlin accompanied the father and son McKinneys from another restaurant to the elder McKinney's home after their shift. The younger McKinney was said to have been drinking heavily with another man who is accused of wrongful death in the lawsuit and who has not been criminally charged.

Between 5 and 5:30 a.m. the next morning, an emergency call was made from the dentist's apartment, Floyd County Judge and Administrative Officer Robbie Williams told NBC News.

During the call, a person believed to be McKinney III asked for emergency assistance – but another person answered and said no emergency response was necessary, Williams told the outlet.

According to the family's lawsuit, the caller wanted to help remove an unidentified intoxicated man from the house. When a dispatcher told him that authorities could only do that if the person was experiencing a medical emergency or posed a danger to himself or others, the caller said the person had suffered a cut from a fall.

Current Prestonsburg Police Chief Ross Shurtleff told NBC another man answered the phone and said, “He has a small cut – everything is fine here.”

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Amber Spradlin's family filed a civil lawsuit against the Prestonsburg Police Department, its former police chief, the city of Prestonsburg, the city's former mayor, and a number of other plaintiffs. (Amber Spradlin on Facebook)

In a second phone call, the younger McKinney called former Prestonsburg Police Chief Randy Woods later that morning, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims this was done to obscure a possible investigation, and attorneys wrote that Spradlin may have survived if the former police chief had taken “immediate remedial action.”

About five hours after the first 911 call and after calling the former police chief, McKinney II dialed 911 again, according to the lawsuit, which Williams confirmed to NBC. At that point, police officers finally arrived and found Spradlin dead.

After two years on the force, Woods resigned days after Spradlin's murder, but in a statement released by WYMT-TV, he attributed his decision to a shooting that left three police officers dead and was unrelated to Spradlin's death.

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Fox News Digital was unable to reach Woods or the Prestonsburg Police Department for comment.

More than a year later, Spradlin's family is still speaking out about the murder. A Facebook group they set up to raise awareness of Spradlin's case has tens of thousands of followers. In the town of Prestonsburg, which has a population of 4,000, they have put up several billboards with the murdered woman's face and the simple message “Justice for Amber.”