Prosecutors seek death penalty for Eastern Kentucky woman accused of killing her baby
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a Kentucky mother accused of killing her 3-month-old baby.
Brenna Burkhart, 24, has been in jail since June 2024, about two months after Kentucky State Police received a suspected physical abuse complaint involving Burkhart’s 3-month-old baby.
She was indicted for murder when the baby died at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in September. The baby had multiple fractures, hemorrhages and retinal bleeding, charges say.
On Monday, Haley Jo Fields, the 41st District’s Commonwealth’s Attorney and prosecutor in the case, filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty.
Fields also noted she may seek life in prison without the possibility of parole, or life without the possibility of parole up to 25 years as possible punishments.
“The citizens in this community expect harsh penalties for violent offenses against innocent victims, especially children and infants. I am fulfilling their wishes and doing the job that they elected me to do,” Fields said in an email to the Herald-Leader.
Burkhart is due back in court on Feb. 3 for a pretrial conference, according to court records. Her bond is set at $400,000.
Kentucky’s death penalty history
The last person to be executed by the state of Kentucky was Marco Allen Chapman in 2008. Two years later Franklin Circuit Chief Judge Phillip Shepherd filed a temporary injunction blocking executions, an injunction that’s still in effect as of today.
Last March, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman filed a motion in Franklin Circuit Court to lift the injunction. The request was appealed to the state Supreme Court, which in October ruled it was not in a position to interfere with the injunction.
Coleman previously said he intends to continue seeking the allowance of the death penalty in Kentucky.
“The Kentucky Supreme Court sent us back to Franklin Circuit Court to continue our efforts to end the 15-year ban on the lawful imposition of the death penalty. On behalf of the victims’ families who have suffered through a decades-long wait for justice, that’s exactly what we intend to do,” Coleman previously said in a statement.
This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 2:30 PM.
