Lawsuit alleges Michael McKinney, Jr. stabbed Amber Spradlin ‘multiple times’

The unsolved murder case that has roiled Floyd County, Kentucky for nearly the past twelve (12) months, took another sharp turn, with Floyd County rocked again after a very recently civil suit filed by the estate and family of the murdered woman, which revealed a lot of new information, that sounds like something out of a crime novel; a true crime TV series; or a Hollywood police investigative television show or movie.

A lawsuit has been filed late last week by family members in the death of Amber Spradlin, almost one year after she was found deceased at a home on Arkansas Creek in Martin, Kentucky in Floyd County.

The Kentucky State Police said a woman, later identified as Amber Spradlin, 39, of Prestonsburg, KY., was found dead on June 18, 2023. They said officials found Amber Spradlin with multiple stab wounds. Her death is being investigated as a murder, according to state police. The Commonwealth Attorney on the Amber Spradlin case said  that the grand jury would hear all of the evidence from the case once the investigation was complete.

The defendants of the lawsuit include the city of Prestonsburg, Floyd County Fiscal Court Prestonsburg Police Department, the Seasons Inn Motel and Restaurant, Former Police Chief Randy Woods, Former Mayor Les Stapleton, County Judge Executive Robbie Williams, Floyd County Fiscal Court Magistrates Mark Crider and George Ousley, Michael McKinney, Michael McKinney Jr., Roy Kidd, Chris McKinney, and “unknown defendants.” The plaintiff is the Administratrix of Spradlin’s estate.

The lawsuit alleges Michael McKinney Jr. stabbed Amber Spradlin multiple times, causing her death, sometime between the night of June 17, 2023, and the early morning hours of June 18, 2023.

This was after Michael McKinney Jr. called 911 to go to the home where she was found, the lawsuit alleges. McKinney Sr. allegedly got on the call to “ensure that no emergency response was going to be sent.” They say no one was sent for a follow-up.

The suit also alleges security cameras installed around the house were removed and that Michael McKinney Sr. called now-former Police Chief Randy Woods before a second 911 call was made, and Michael McKinney Jr. left before law enforcement arrived. It says no one in the residence reported the alleged attack or “the fact that she died as a result of the attack until after efforts were made to cover up the crime.”

Before this, the lawsuit says Michael McKinney Jr. and Roy Kidd had been drinking alcohol at the Seasons Inn Motel and Restaurant before going to the home with Amber Spradlin, which are both owned by Michael McKinney Sr., who then allegedly gave Michael McKinney Jr. and Roy Kidd “additional intoxicating substances.”

Amber Spradlin’s family held a press conference back in July 2023 where they called into question possible confusion with the 911 center.

On December 12, 2022, the Floyd County Fiscal Court approved a resolution to outsource the 911 dispatch service to the city of Prestonsburg, according to court documents. The lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges the defendants failed to perform certain administrative duties following the change.

A petition in honor of Amber Spradlin asked for the Floyd County Fiscal Court to give the 911 emergency call center and its duties back to the Kentucky State Police Post 9.

The attorneys for Amber Spradlin’s family met with Prestonsburg officials and the Floyd County Fiscal Court on how the 911 center handled the death of Amber Spradlin, according to a press release statement from July 2023.

“We plan to continue our communications and conversations with the City of Prestonsburg and Floyd County to ensure all the information surrounding this incident is assessed to make certain our community is well served by its 911 Center, the Prestonsburg Police Department, the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office and the Kentucky State Police Post 9,” the press release statements from July 2023 said.

After Huntington-Charleston, West Virginia TV news station WOWK sent an open records request, Prestonsburg Police Chief Ross Shurtleff said the 911 center didn’t receive any calls from Amber Spradlin on June 18. All calls from that day were forwarded to the Kentucky State Police for their investigation, Shurtleff said.

Community members have come together to push for answers, including making sure people remember her name.

Earlier in 2024, two “Justice for Amber” billboards went up around Floyd County. After that, a bench on the Big Sandy Community and Technical College campus was unveiled in hopes of raising awareness.

LAWSUIT ALLEGATIONS ARE LIKE THERE FROM CRIME TV OR MOVIE SCRIPT

According to an interview with Hazard, KY. TV news station WYMT; Amber Spradlin’s aunt Melissa Samons and her cousin Debbie Hall have been champions for the Prestonsburg woman since her death on June 18, 2023. From protests, to billboards, the family continues to fight for answers as the investigation reaches the one-year mark.

“It’s just been a difficult and a long wait. there’s a lot of people in the community who say, ‘It’ll never be solved. No one will ever be arrested. No one’s ever gonna have to answer for this,’” Debbie Hall said. “And it’s upsetting.”

With that anniversary looming, and no arrests made, the family filed a civil complaint in Floyd County, addressing the people they believe to be responsible for Amber Spradlin’s death.

“With the civil complaint coming out and people see that there’s some forward movement in the case, it gives us all a little bit of a boost and some hope that the criminal case won’t be far behind,” Debbie Hall said.

The complaint was filed against dentist and business owner Michael K. McKinney, his son, Michael “MK” McKinney Jr., Roy Kidd of Ivel, business owner Chris McKinney of Martin, The Seasons Inn Motel and Restaurant, The City of Prestonsburg, the Prestonsburg Police Department, former police chief Randy Woods, the Floyd County Fiscal Court, former mayor Les Stapleton, Judge-Executive Robbie Williams, Magistrate Mark Crider, and Magistrate George Ousley.

On the night of her death, the family alleges MK Mickinney Jr. and Roy Kidd went with Amber Spradlin to The Seasons Inn- owned by the McKinneys- and were served alcohol “despite the fact that they were severely intoxicated.” The complaint continues, saying the three left the business and went to a home on Arkansas Creek Road, also owned by Michael McKinney. According to the lawsuit, Michael McKinney and two other people were also present that night, and the dentist provided Roy Kidd and MK McKinney with “additional intoxicating substances.”

Later that night and into the next morning, the lawsuit claims a call was made to 911 from MK Mckinney, “requesting help at the residence” to “respond to an emergency,” but Michael McKinney then got on the line “to ensure no emergency response was going to be sent home.”

After that call, the lawsuit continues, Amber Spradlin was stabbed multiple times and died in the home. The lawsuit claims the person who stabbed her was MK McKinney

“This is probably the best that I have felt since Amber was murdered, because we can finally say that,” said Debbie Hall.

In the complaint, the family says Amber Spradlin was not protected or helped by those in the home and they believe security cameras were potentially removed before a second 911 call was made.

The claim alleges that Michael McKinney called Randy Wood, who was chief of police during this time, and had a conversation with him before calling 911 for the second time. “Amberar Spradlin may have been alive during the time of the call,” the complaint said. “Randy Wood failed to take prompt remedial action to potentially save [her] life.”

MK McKinney Jr. then left the home before first responders arrived, according to the lawsuit, with the family claiming the people in the home made no efforts to report the attack or Amber Spradlin’s death “until after efforts were made to cover up the crime.”

The city, the Prestonsburg Police Department, and Floyd County officials are being accused of negligence. The lawsuit claims the Prestonsburg Police Department failed to respond to the original call from MK McKinney Jr., which her family believes would have saved her.

According to the complaint, filed by Melissa Samons, the city is responsible for the “acts and omissions” of “any and all employees and decision makers employed by the City of Prestonsburg” who were involved in the case. The lawsuit also claims the Floyd County Fiscal Court is to be held responsible in its role of transferring the 911 call center, which the family believes was a factor in Spradlin’s death. That decision was introduced and voted through by Judge-Executive Robbie Williams, Magistrate Mark Crider, and Magistrate George Ousley.

The lawsuit alleges the interlocal agreement to transfer the 911 center was entered into official records on December 21, 2022 and “replaced later that same day by the Prestonsburg Police Departmentwithout authority or authorization.” That agreement, according to the lawsuit, made Prestonsburg Police Department responsible for emergency dispatch services “for the entirety of Floyd County across all law enforcement agencies.” The complaint continues, saying the city and county worked together to move the center and decide how it would operate, but did not make any attempts to ensure the Prestonsburg Police Department would be able to “handle the calls” or “perform the duties of a 911 call center.”

Some of those issues have been defended by the city and its 911 Center in the past. Les Stapleton, who was mayor at the time, said some of the arguments made by attorneys for the family were baseless, causing more harm to the first responders who are working in the dispatch center.

“We hope to dispel some of the misconceptions and refute the outright lies that have been perpetrated towards the 911 system and our personnel. Hopefully this will help to educate everyone, so they can realize when someone is talking about facts or just making biased and politically-motivated comments,” said Les Stapleton in an interview last year.

The lawsuit includes counts of negligence, outrage, wrongful death, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, tampering with evidence, reckless spoliation of evidence, violation of Kentucky Criminal Statutes, and more.

The family hopes to see the case go to trial, seeking more information from those involved as part of the lawsuit to help fuel the criminal complaint that will come once the investigation is complete.

“I’m tired. It’s been a long, hard year. But I’m not stopping. I’m not gonna quit,” Debbie Hall said. “I loved Amber and she deserves so much better. And I’m going to make sure that someone has to answer for what they did to her.”

She said the community support for ‘Justice for Amber’ has helped the family more than anyone knows. The group is planning to host another rally on Saturday, June 15 on the 300-block of downtown Prestonsburg. There will be a gathering, a cornhole tournament, and more, as the family continues to keep Amber’s story alive.

“We had about 100 people last time. We’re hoping for more people this time, just to show that we are not backing down and we’re not going away,” said Debbie Hall.

Debbie Hall said the family continues to support Kentucky State Police in the investigation, saying they understand there is a backlog in the crime lab for the delays in DNA testing results. Hall said she hopes after justice is served for Amber, the case will also help bring awareness to the need for more funding and assistance at the state forensic labs. Debbie Hall said she also hopes to see the 911 dispatch center moved back to KSP Post 9 in Pikeville, saying she does not want this to happen to another family.