3, including a dentist, arrested in high-profile murder case

A man was arrested for the 2023 murder of a woman along with his father, a well-connected dentist in Kentucky, and another man who are accused of hiding evidence and cleaning up the woman's blood, according to multiple news reports.

Dr. Michael K. McKinney II. Image courtesy of Floyd County Smiles.

On July 30, Michael "M.K." McKinney III, 24, was arrested and charged with the June 18, 2023, murder of Amber Spradlin, 38. M.K. McKinney III, his father, Dr. Michael K. McKinney II, 56, and Josh Mullins, 23, were arrested and charged with seven counts of complicity to tamper with physical evidence. The men, all from Martin, KY, were being held in county detention centers, according to reports.

On July 30, police were seen outside McKinney II's dental practice, Floyd County Smiles. Mullins was arrested at the practice. The father was arrested at Brickhouse Restaurant, which he owns, and where Spradlin reportedly worked as a hostess. The son was arrested at a different location.

On June 17, 2023, Spradlin finished her shift at the Brickhouse Restaurant and then allegedly left with the dentist and another man and headed to an inn. Eventually, they arrived at Dr. McKinney II's home. Hours later on June 18, 911 was called to the home, where Spradlin had been stabbed 11 times in the head, neck, and throat.

The father, son, and Mullins are accused of engaging in a "complicated scheme" to conceal the handle of the knife used to slay Spradlin, destroying M.K. McKinney III's clothing, and cleaning up the woman's blood in the sink and laundry room of the dentist's house, according to reports.

Also, the men allegedly destroyed a surveillance camera that would have captured the murder, the video recorder with footage from the surveillance cameras, as well as the hard drive of the only computer in the home that would have had information about the cameras, according to reports.

There had been public sentiment that police had prolonged the case due to the high profiles of some of the suspects. However, authorities stated that it was delayed due to the state's forensic lab's inability to complete tests quickly.

Since 1994, Dr. McKinney II has practiced dentistry in Floyd County, KY. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry and an active member of the ADA, the Kentucky Dental Association, and the Kentucky Mountain Dental Society, according to his practice's website. Since 1996, he has been married to his wife LaDonna, and M.K. is their only child, according to his practice's website.