Defense claims new DNA results clear defendant in Amber Spradlin murder

 (WYMT) – Attorneys for Michael “M.K.” McKinney III are asking a judge to remove him from home incarceration, arguing newly returned DNA test results point to another man as the killer of Amber Spradlin. Prosecutors, however, have swiftly pushed back, calling the defense’s claims misleading and selective.

The arguments unfolded this week in dueling court filings submitted in Pike Circuit Court ahead of McKinney’s scheduled January 2027 trial. McKinney is charged with murder in connection with the June 2023 death of Spradlin, 22, who was found stabbed to death at the Prestonsburg home of his father, Dr. Michael McKinney.

Defense: New DNA report is ‘explosively exculpatory’

In a motion filed Tuesday, defense attorney Steven R. Romines argued that the latest Kentucky State Police laboratory testing provides “overwhelming force” that another man present at the home, Roy Kidd, killed Spradlin.

Romines cited findings from KSP Lab Report #16, stating that Kidd’s DNA was identified on a hair clip belonging to Spradlin at a likelihood ratio of 40 quadrillion, as well as on samples linked to her shoes and socks. The motion also pointed to Spradlin’s DNA found on the master bedroom door, suggesting her blood could have been left there when Kidd pounded on the door that morning.

“With well over a dozen lab reports completed, MK McKinney’s own DNA is still nowhere near this crime scene, and with the recent results, available evidence now provides with overwhelming force that Roy Kidd assaulted and killed Amber Spradlin,” Romines wrote.

He argued the results demonstrate that McKinney poses no danger to the community and should be released from home incarceration conditions.

Commonwealth: Claims are ‘selective and inaccurate’

In a response filed Thursday, prosecutors with the Floyd County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office urged Special Judge Eddy Coleman to deny the motion, arguing that McKinney remains charged with murder and that the defense is mischaracterizing forensic evidence that belongs before a jury.

Prosecutors countered several key points raised by the defense, citing multiple KSP forensic reports:

 

• Clothing: The Commonwealth stated that 11 cuttings taken from the clothes Spradlin was wearing at the time of her autopsy showed no foreign DNA matching Kidd.
• The “sock” sample: Prosecutors wrote that Spradlin was actually excluded as a contributor to the swab taken from the sock cited by the defense, asserting the sock was not worn by Spradlin at the time of her death.
• Shoes and door: Prosecutors noted Kidd was excluded from five of the six samples tested on Spradlin’s shoes—which were found on the floor near her body—and noted Kidd was excluded as a contributor to the blood found on the master bedroom door, which contained only Spradlin’s DNA.
• Fingernail DNA and injuries: The Commonwealth reiterated that male DNA recovered beneath Spradlin’s fingernails matched the McKinney paternal lineage, excluding Kidd and another man in the home, Joshua Mullins. Prosecutors also noted McKinney was seen on surveillance leaving the area around 8:30 a.m. before Spradlin’s body was reported found and had documented scratch marks on his arms that experts identified as fingernail scratches.

“None of it supports the motion’s claim that the evidence shows ‘with overwhelming force’ that someone else killed Amber Spradlin,” prosecutors wrote, noting that Kidd had spent the evening with Spradlin and reported attempting to shake her when he found her body.

A hearing on the defense’s motion is set for Friday in Pike Circuit Court. A jury trial is currently set to begin on Jan. 11, 2027.