Who Killed Amber Spradlin?

By Roberta Cantrell

BSN Editor

What has taken a year before arrests were made back in July in the case of Amber Spradlin, a woman found stabbed over 11 times in the head and neck at the home of a dentist in June of 2023, seems to now be going in different directions.

Dr. Michael McKinney, who was arrested on eight counts of tampering and was initially jailed was released on home confinement with a suspension of his license to practice is now on work release.

Josh Mullins, who was also arrested on eight counts tampering and was initially jailed is also on home confinement. Both were accused of trying to cover up the crime.

But the murder charge was handed down to the doctor’s son M.K. McKinney who is currently remains in jail on a $5 million cash bond.

Steven Romines, attorney for M.K., has now come up with yet another person who he says is a more likely suspect than his client.

Romines, says he believes Roy Kidd, a friend of Amber Spradlin and had been out with her the night prior to her death should be looked at as the suspect instead of M.K. McKinney.

Some have taken to social media saying they believe that because the McKinneys are influential in the community that this is just a way of making Kidd the “fall guy” since this is really the first time his name is surfacing publicly.

In a statement released by Kidd’s attorney Timothy Parker he states:

“On behalf of Roy Kidd, I wish to make the following statement:

“Recently statements have been made in the media and in Court filings concerning Roy Kidd. These statements have been made by the attorneys representing Michael ‘MK’ McKinney III, accused of the murder of Amber Spradlin. Notably, in Court filings, it has been alleged that Roy was found to be deceptive on questions of whether he stabbed Amber, and was violent and threatening on the night of the murder. These allegations are false and are not supported by the facts. It is further alleged that Roy

stopped his cooperation with the Commonwealth, which is likewise false. Roy has fully cooperated with the Commonwealth and the authorities, and continues to do so.

“Roy Kidd was a friend of Amber Spradlin, and was devastated to find her murdered in the home of Michael McKinney II. Upon finding her body, Roy did the proper thing, immediately requesting Michael McKinney II call 911. McKinney made several phone calls to other persons before calling 911. Michael McKinney III was absent from the residence when Amber was found murdered. It is a fair question to ask why 911 was not immediately called, and where the younger McKinney left to, after a night of heavy alcohol consumption, and why he left.

“Unfortunately, we have no answers to these and other questions from the McKinneys, because while Roy was giving full statements to the police, the McKinneys were arranging for legal counsel, and have refused any cooperation. While this is their right, it speaks volumes about their criminal responsibility in this matter. We challenge both McKinneys to sit for a polygraph examination, and to cooperate with police interviews, as Roy has, before continuing to attack his character and actions in this matter.

“On behalf of Roy, please wait for all the facts to be revealed in the trial of this matter, and trust that Roy had no part in this terrible crime.”

Romines, filed a motion Tuesday seeking to have his client’s bond lowered claiming there is no physical evidence or witness statements tying M.K. McKinney to the crime and says the entire case against him is based on circumstantial evidence. While the motion makes the typical arguments about M.K. McKinney not being a flight risk or danger to the community, as well examples of other defendants receiving lower bonds for similar charges

It also spends time trying to point the finger at another person as a suspect making the claim that Roy Kidd, Spradlin’s friend who was with at the Seasons Inn and also at the McKinney home, should be considered the suspect.

“The allegations against the Defendant are not only unsupported by the evidence provide to this point – the Evidence weights against an entirely different person, “ Romines writes. “The motion filed by the Commonwealth states that Amber Spradlin was murdered as ‘an act of extreme rage,’ committed by someone ‘unstable and dangerous.’ On the night of Amber’s death, one individual was indeed displaying violent outbursts and instability – but it was not the Defendant.

“Roy Kidd was intoxicated to the point of belligerence, and KSP testified under oath at the Grand Jury that Amber was upset and disturbed at Roy Kidd’s drunken belligerent behavior and felt he ‘embarrassed’ her in front of her employer. KSP further testified that Amber was so angry at Roy that she was taken upstairs to be separated from him. Roy’s unbalanced behaviour grew so out-of-control that the Defendant himself called 911 to plead for law enforcement’s help in controlling Roy, to no avail. The Commonwealth is reasonable to argue that this was a crime of intense, volatile emotion, but that accusation weighs far less against Michael McKinney III than the Commonwealth suggest. It was Roy Kidd at whom Amber was upset and angry that morning, not M.K. It was Roy Kidd who was violent and out of control that morning, not M.K. It was Roy Kidd whose cell phone was lying beside Amber’s bloody body that morning, not M.K.’s.

There has been no response from the prosecutors to the motion but is expected to be taken up at the next pre-trial conference in the coming week.