Amber Spradlin

All witnesses, purchas of interest, and suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Warning, this episode contains graphic crime scene detail and maybe sensitive for some listeners. Welcome to Primetime Crime. I'm your host, Kylie. Let's talk right now and true crime, and then together we are going to work on warming up some cold cases. Let's go. Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Primetime Crime. It's Kylie. Thank you so much for being here. I have officially been in this podcasting game for a whole year as of right now today, recording this on Sunday, March thirty first. Today was the day that I released my very first episode a year ago, and it is insane that it has gone by so quickly. So I first wanted to start off saying thank you to everyone for listening, sticking around, and for being here regardless of when you came on. And I decided to treat myself to a new mic for my potniversary, So that is what I'm recording on right now. We're going to see how the sound quality is. If you guys notice any difference and you're like, no, thumbs down, then I'm going back to my old mic, but I feel like the sound is probably pretty comparable. But we will see as the episode goes. So right now, in true crime, let's talk some big things Chad day Bill. Tomorrow, it all starts. He is officially going to be on trial for the murders of Lori Valo's children, Tyler, Ryan and Jj Vallo, and then his wife Tammy Davell. It all begins. Justice has taken so long for this family, and it's all about to start now again. After they had a little bit of a break over the summer from Lori Vaalo's trial, It's all about to start again. And then we also have Lori Valo going to court in Arizona on the attempted murder of Brandon Boudreau and the murder of her husband, Charles Vaalow. So justice is coming in twenty twenty four for that family. Slowly but surely, we are getting there, all right. Next up, I want to talk about Hannah Gutier's read. They came back and said that she is going to not get a new trial. Her sentencing is set to happen on April fifteenth. I've talked about her on here before. She is the Rust movie set Armor, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the accidental homicide that occurred on set. So it's going to be really interesting to see what her sentence ends up being. I do know that she's not thriving in jail right now. She wants out of jail. She wanted out of jail until her sentencing, and she wanted a new trial, but that is now not happening. Okay, moving on in Riley Straight News. They officially laid him to rest at the end of last week and everything is still kind of up in the air. Crime Weekly Today really good in depth episode this past week on Riley. I highly suggest you guys go listen to it because they're having the important conversations regardless of what happened to Riley, whether or not it was an accident or he ended up getting drugged at a bar, the important conversations are never leave your buddy, especially when you're in an unfamiliar place and you're drinking. Never leave your buddy. And what responsibility do these bars have to make sure that their patrons, even though they're being kicked out, are safe. Because at the end of the day, if Riley was as drunk as he seemed on all of the surveillance video footage. He never should have been allowed to go out on the streets of Nashville by himself at nighttime, unfamiliar place. And I know that we can argue personal and responsibility all day long. He is an adult, he's twenty two years old. He made the conscious effort and decision to drink alcohol, and maybe he ingested too much. Maybe he didn't ingest too much and something ended up in his drink that he didn't realize ended up in his drink. But regardless, I feel like it really opens up the conversation, and we need to have these conversations because there's been other people from different bars on Broadway in Nashville that have come forward and said the same thing has happened to them. There's video footage of a girl being thrown out, like literally thrown out like garbage in Nashville, and then other people just coming up around her and they're like just surrounding her and touching her, and it's just so inappropriate. I don't unders stand. I feel like there needs to be a little bit more responsibility on that end as well, Like it's normal for college kids to want to go out and drink, and they don't always think things through because typically their brains aren't fully formed yet and they just want to go have fun. But there has to be some other kind of safety measures in place to make sure that these people are getting where they need to go safely and some tragedy like this doesn't happen again. So I think the whole thing with Riley, regardless of what comes out, it's just going to be a really good learning experience for the city of Nashville, for other college bar towns to really think about and try to navigate how we can prevent this from happening again. This has happened numerous times in Austin on Sixth Street with the whole Lady Lake situation, which is of her discussion, of course, but I feel like this is going to be the time that we really all need to use this as a learning experience. So hopefully nothing tragic like this ever happens to anyone again, because no one deserves to lose their son because of something that easily could have been prevented. Okay, I'm gonna step off of my soapbox on that matter, and we are going to go ahead and get started with today's episode. Okay, guys, today we are diving in to the unsolved, but in my opinion, extremely solvable, homicide of a woman named Amber Spradlin. I am as always going to start by talking to you about Amber kind of some of the things that were happening in her life leading up to her unfortunate murder. And then we're going to talk a little bit about the case. This is a wild one, so prepare yourselves. Amber Nicole Spradlin was born on October seventh of nineteen eighty four in Prestenburg, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Tom Spradlin and Sharon Robinson Spradlin. She was primarily raised by her grandparents, Margie and James Merle Osborne following the death of Amber's mom, Sharon. Amber was only four years old when her mom was found dead in nineteen eighty eight. And I am going to read a little article in regards to Amber's mom's passing. So the newspaper article is entitled body found at local lounge. The body of Sharon K. Robinson Spradlin was found lodged in a window opening in the front of Wildcout Lounge in Prestenburg, early Thursday morning. Preliminary reports indicate the thirty three year old Prestenberg woman died of suffocation while attempting to climb out of the window. According to officials, the Kentucky State Police, nofa play is suspected. Deputy County Coroner Glenn Fraser, who pronounced Spradlin dead at the scene, said the woman was reportedly locked in the building when the lounge closed. Evidence indicated she broke out the windows, stood on a metal folding chair and tried to climb out, said Fraser, but the chair collapsed she was apparently unable to climb back in, he said. Fraser estimated the time of death was two or three am on Thursday. Her body was discovered at eight thirty am. Spradlin, daughter of Floyd County clerk Ollie Robinson, is survived by her mother, Margie Neelie Osborne of Prestenburg, her husband, John Thomas Spradlin of Prestenburg, two daughters, Angela Kay Spradlin and Amber Nicole Spradling, both living at home, a sister, Melissa R. Tussy of Dayton, Ohio, and her maternal grandparents, Mister and Missus els and Neelie of Prestenburg and then it goes into details about her service. So Amber ended up being raised by her grandparents. I don't know the circumstances of her relationship with her father, but I do know that he passed to weigh in two thousand and seven. Also, Amber's sister, Angela passed away in nineteen ninety six due to injuries that she received in an automobile accident. She was only twenty three at the time. So Amber had a lot of tragedy in her life, a lot of sad circumstances in her life. She would go on to be the caretaker for her elderly grandparents until they ultimately ended up passing away, so much of her life was dedicated to taking care of others, helping others. Amber was only thirty seven years old when she was killed, and in the months before her murder, she had just basically started to spread her wings. She bought herself a home. She ended up getting a job in May of twenty twenty three as a hostess at a restaurant called The Brick House, which is located in Kentucky. She started to make friends and was finally starting to try to to start her life. After so many years of helping others. She had a deep love for animals and she even had two pet cats herself. She was an avid churchgoer and was not really a person that drank alcohol. So we are going to talk about the night of June seventeenth, of twenty twenty three. So this case is not even a year old yet. So Amber had gone to work on June seventeenth, and then after work she had met with a friend and they had went to the Season's Inn, which was a hotel and restaurant, and then they ended their night at the home of a mutual friend who happens to be a dentist, doctor Michael McKinney, who Amber knew. I don't know exactly how close they were, if they were acquaintances. I will tell you that through my research I found out that I don't know if they are currently still mayor. But at one point in time, Michael was married to a woman named LaDonna, and she is actually the owner slash operator of the Brick House restaurant where Amber had recently started a job as a hostess. So Amber goes to Michael McKinney's home. There are an unknown number of other people present at the home as well, So we really don't know a lot of what happens next. But there were two nine to one one calls that came in from Michael's home. One came in at five twenty a m. On the morning of June eighteenth, of twenty twenty three. So the call wasn't made by Amber, it didn't have anything to do with Amber, but whoever the caller was, they mentioned that there was a man who was drunk and he was bleeding profusely. They thought maybe he had had a fall, and then someone ended up coming in taking the phone and said they have it under control. So officers never followed up on the call. They never went to do a welfare check, which very well potentially could have saved Amber's life, because just a short while later, Michael called nine to one one just after ten o'clock in the morning to report that Amber's body was in his home and he believed that she had been murdered. What the heck? So investigators arrived. They found that Amber had been stabbed eleven times in her head, neck, and throat, And of course the investigation begins like how did this woman get here? What is your relationship? How do you know her. So the people that were noted to be present at the house were doctor Michael McKinney, who was fifty six at the time, his son who was named Michael McKinney, he was twenty three at the time, and also he was a college student. And there was a guy named Roy Kidd present as well, and there were two other unnamed individuals at the house at the time. Now, everyone says the house that doctor McKinney lived in was very large and vast, and it is very probable that the people that were in the home didn't necessarily know what happened or witnessed what happened because the home was so so large, So something could have been happening in one room and the other people in the home wouldn't have had any idea. So as far as the investigation goes, investigators have been pretty tight lipped about the investigation, but they did say that they suspected foul play. And around the same time that nine one one was called, it is also alleged that several other calls were made to some prominent figures in this area of Kentucky at that time. So we're going to talk a little bit about doctor McKinney. I'm not implicating him. It is only because we are going to talk about who he is, kind of his relevance and importance in the community, and the murder happened at his house, so we have to talk about him. So doctor McKinney is a prominent figure in Floyd County with significant long standing ties to several elected county officials. Now, some of these officials have, of course made statements regarding Amber's murder, and one of them said, the circumstances surrounding Miss Bradlin's death and the relationships of individuals present at doctor McKinney's residence have become the focus of intense public debate and speculation, And of course they haven't publicly named anyone as a suspect. They are still in the process to this day, almost a whole year later, of testing forensics on numerous different items. And also, interestingly enough, the chief of police resigned abruptly, and this was the Prestenburg City police chief. His name was Randy Woods. He resigned June twenty seventh of twenty twenty three. So again there's a lot of speculation that his abrupt resignation had something to do with Amber Spradlin and small town vibes guys. So money talks unfortunately not saying that that's necessarily the case here, but a lot of people are insinuating because Randy Woods abruptly resigned, that it had something to do with Amber's homicide. So Randy Woods says in his statement, it has been an honor and privilege to serve with the men and women at Prestenburg, and I appreciate the opportunity to serve the citizens of Prestenburg. This decision did not come lightly and has weighed heavily on me and my family since the horrific events of June thirtieth of twenty twenty two, and after much consideration prayer, I made the decision to move on and into the next chapter. So there was a shooting in June of twenty twenty two in Alan that ended up killing three officers and a Cane nine dog. So he is saying, I guess there was a lot of scrutiny on him after this particular shooting happened, and then just days after Amber is killed he resigns. So is it all connected? We really don't know, but I feel like we have to talk about it. So that's what we're here to do. So here's what I really want to know. I really want to know. First of all, what are all the people that were inside the home that night saying? What is Michael McKinney, doctor, Michael McKinney saying, what is his son saying? The other gentleman who was present and who was named Roy Kidd he is I have been told very cooperative with the investigation and try to help in any way he possibly can. I've also heard rumblings that he is potentially one of the other people that was injured at the house that night. But other than that, we don't know anything. There is a lot of online speculation. I am not going to elaborate any further on that. Everyone can use the internet and look it up. There is a page that Amber's family has made for her, which is on Facebook. Justice for Amber. It is a pretty active group and it's really interesting because they all kind of we all kind of feel the same way, like this case is very solvable. Somebody in that house killed Amber, and I don't know why. I don't feel like there was any type of motive for doing that. Did they lure her there or was it just somebody was messed up on drugs or on alcohol and carried out this lewde and heinous act. But regardless, whoever did this needs to pay the consequences. And also anyone that's protecting this person also needs to come forward, because whoever was in the house that night, probably more likely than not, knows a lot more than they are coming forward with. I have heard that some people are not being cooperative in the investigation. I don't know the validity of that, but that is just what I have heard kind of in the different little bits of chatter that I've seen. And I just think it's really interesting that Amber went over there, like just to hang out with friends and she ended up not coming home, and not even that like she lost her life, but she lost her life in a really, really heinous way. To stab somebody eleven times is so personal, and it makes me feel like it was an attack that was pre planned. I just don't know. I have so many questions about this case, and I feel so bad for Amber's remaining family because they so badly want justice for her, and it seems like the writing is on the wall. It really does that there are certain people that hold a little bit of power in this small little town, and that is the reason that nobody has been arrested or charged with Amber's murder. So I feel like that's an avenue worth exploring. I don't care who you're trying to protect. If somebody dies in my home, you bet your butt that I'm going to be extra cooperative and be as helpful as I can in the investigation. Like I want to know what happened just as much as the next guy. But if we aren't cooperating because we are trying to cover up what happened or protect somebody else from what happened, and essentially try to have them get away with doing something horrible to Amber, then that's a whole different camera worms that we need to talk about. And nobody is above the law. And as I was researching this case, this happens in a lot of different cases, especially in small towns. When somebody is protected because they have a lot of money, money talks, so a killer walks, and that is not okay in any way, shape or form. That just because you are prominent and you have money, because you know people, that you're protected and that you are above the law. Like at the end of the day, and nobody is above the law. And I do feel like the walls are going to be closing in, hopefully sooner rather than later on whoever took Amber's life and whoever is helping cover it up, because it is not okay. Like I said, the one guy is being cooperative with investigators and the others, I really don't know a whole lot more about to say if they are cooperating or not, but I would hope every single person is being co operative so we can get resolution for this. But money talks and a killer walks. Unfortunately, that's the name of the game in this case, and I do not like it one bit. I want to bring attention to it because Amber's life is important. It sounds like Amber was one of the best people. She had a very tragic life, a lot of loss in her life, and she dedicated it to helping others. She helped with her elderly grandparents as you know they got older, and was a caretaker for them. And then just as she's starting to spread her wings and try to settle her own life and just try to live for herself, her life was taken away from her in one of the most horrific ways. By somebody, by people in a place where she thought she was safe and she wasn't and it's horrible and awful, and I don't really know what else to say about it. I feel like we need to spread awareness of this case, keep it out there. It's not even a year old yet, and it's already been too long for Amber not to have justice. So we are going to keep speaking out until hopefully there's an arrest made in this case and they are able to link everything back to whoever did this to Amber and we are able to get justice for her. So this is a little bit of a shorter episode because there's not really a lot to it because we really don't know the bulk of what happened, and until those people decide that they're going to come forward and fess up and do what's right, and we're probably not going to know. So a very interesting case, nonetheless, because you never expect that you're going to go over to a friend's house and then never come home. So be sure to share this episode, especially if you live locally to where Amber lived. I will also be sure to link the Facebook page and all of the sources that I have used for this episode there's a few different ones, and hopefully we don't get to a year of Amber being gone before this case is solved. So let's put the pressure where it needs to be put and get the people who are responsible for Amber's death off of the streets because they are violent and they will easily do this again, especially if they think that they can get away with it. So thank you guys so much as always, and I will see you on Friday for a brand new episode. Bye.