Kentucky Dentist and Son Accused of Murder and Evidence Tampering in Employee's Death

A dentist and his son in Kentucky have been arrested and charged with murder and evidence tampering in connection with the death of an employee at their family restaurant. The victim was found stabbed to death in the dentist's home.

A Kentucky dentist and his son are facing criminal charges after an employee at their family restaurant was found stabbed to death in the older man's home. Amber Spradlin, 39, was found dead with multiple stab wounds to the head and neck on June 18, 2023, on a couch in the Prestonsburg home of dentist Michael McKinney II, 56.

McKinney II and another man, 23-year-old Josh Mullins, have both pleaded not guilty to charges of tampering with evidence at the scene of her death. The dentist's son, 24-year-old Michael McKinney III, was also arrested and indicted on charges of murder along with multiple counts of evidence tampering.

Kentucky Dentist and Son Accused of Murder and Evidence Tampering in Employee's Death

All three men were charged with an additional count of evidence tampering on Aug. 14, according to court documents. Prosecutors allege that after Spradlin was killed, the McKinneys and Mullins destroyed bloody clothing, the handle of a knife used in the slaying, and a security camera that would have captured the woman's murder.

The indictment also accuses the three men of planting a knife in the couch where Spradlin was fatally stabbed to "suggest it was the murder weapon."

Kentucky Dentist and Son Accused of Murder and Evidence Tampering in Employee's Death

Spradlin's family has filed a civil lawsuit against the county, city of Prestonsburg, its police department, McKinney and his son, Mullins, the Seasons Inn Motel and Restaurant, and a slew of others. The lawsuit accuses law enforcement of negligence and obstruction of justice and alleges that Spradlin's death could have been prevented if a welfare check was made after two calls were made to emergency services.

The circumstances surrounding Spradlin's death are still unclear, and authorities have yet to release a possible motive, NBC News reported.

Kentucky Dentist and Son Accused of Murder and Evidence Tampering in Employee's Death

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

According to the family's lawsuit, Spradlin accompanied the McKinney father and son from another restaurant to the elder McKinney's home after her shift. The younger McKinney had allegedly been drinking heavily with another man accused in the wrongful death suit who does not face any criminal charges.

Kentucky Dentist and Son Accused of Murder and Evidence Tampering in Employee's Death

A 911 call was placed from the dentist's residence between 5 and 5:30 the next morning, Floyd County Judge-Executive Robbie Williams told NBC News. During the call, a person believed to be McKinney III sought help for an emergency – but another person got onto the line and said that no emergency response was necessary, Williams