Lawsuit in Kentucky woman’s homicide says local officials were negligent in 911 service
The son of an Eastern Kentucky business owner stabbed a woman to death after getting drunk and took part in trying to thwart an investigation of the crime, a lawsuit filed Tuesday charges.
The explosive allegations are the latest development in a homicide that has caused controversy and a great deal of emotion in Prestonsburg and Floyd County.
The victim in the case was Amber Nicole Spradlin, 39. Someone stabbed Spradlin at least 11 times on June 18, 2023.
The homicide took place at the residence of Michael K. McKinney Sr., a dentist who owned The Seasons Inn and Restaurant in the county at the time, according to the lawsuit.
Kentucky State Police have not charged anyone in Spradlin’s death, but the lawsuit alleges that McKinney’s son, Michael McKinney Jr., killed Spradlin.
Spradlin was at The Seasons with McKinney Jr., and another local resident, Roy Kidd, where the two men were served alcohol despite being “severely intoxicated,” the lawsuit says.
The three later went to McKinney Sr.’s house.
The defendants in the lawsuit
The defendants in the lawsuit are the father and son; Kidd; former Prestonsburg Mayor Les Stapleton and former police Chief Randy Woods; Floyd County Judge-Executive Robbie Williams and Magistrates Mark Crider and George Ousley; the city police department; the city and county; and The Seasons Inn and Restaurant, which allegedly served too much alcohol to McKinney Jr. and Kidd.
The public agencies and officials are named as defendants because of an arrangement for 911 dispatch services.
The state police post in Pikeville handled that service for some time, but in December 2022, the county fiscal court under Williams voted to have the Prestonsburg Police Department take over 911 dispatching, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint charges that the city and county were negligent because they did not make sure the department had adequate staffing and policies in place before taking over the 911 dispatching.
The night Spradlin was killed
The night Spradlin was killed, McKinney Jr. made a call to 911 from his father’s house before her death requesting help, but McKinney Sr. got on the line to make sure there was no emergency response, the lawsuit says.
Dispatchers should have sent police to the house in response to the call, but didn’t, the lawsuit says.
Debbie Hall, a physician and cousin of Spradlin, said she was allowed to hear a recording of the 911 call.
Hall said a man she identified as McKinney Jr. said on the call that there was a man at the house who was “f----d up” and bleeding profusely.
McKinney Sr. then got on the line, said there was nothing life-threatening going on and that he had it under control, and would call if needed, Hall said.
Family members and friends of Spradlin believe if police had responded after that call, “it’s very likely Amber would still be alive today,” Hall said.
Spradlin was killed after that initial call, the lawsuit says.
A second 911 call
Before a second 911 call from the scene, McKinney Sr. talked by phone with Woods, who was then the police chief, the lawsuit says.
Spradlin may still have been alive during that call, but Woods didn’t take prompt action that might have saved her, the lawsuit alleges.
The call from McKinney Sr. to Woods was for the purpose of “obfuscating a potential investigation,” the lawsuit alleges.
McKinney Jr. left before police arrived, and people at the house may have removed security cameras, according to the lawsuit, which accuses the father and son of tampering with evidence.
Did someone try to ‘clean up the scene?’
A motion with the lawsuit seeks an admission that people tried to “clean up the scene” before police arrived.
The lawsuit includes accusations and the defendants have not responded in court. They either could not be reached for comment Tuesday or declined comment.
J. Dale Golden, a Lexington attorney, filed the lawsuit for Melissa Samons, who was appointed to administer Spradlin’s estate. Another Lexington attorney, Mark Wohlander, has been assisting the family since Spradlin’s death.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money to compensate the estate, as well as punitive damages.
In the months after Spradlin’s death, family and supporters set up a Facebook page to push for progress in the case, put out “Justice for Amber” signs and bumper stickers and even bought space on billboards.
This story was originally published June 4, 2024 at 2:15 PM.
