Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the date of Amber Spradlin’s death. We regret the error.
FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — Interview transcripts revealed new details about what happened the night of Amber Spradlin’s death, and one of the men charged has suspicions about another’s involvement.
RELATED | Amber Spradlin case: New indictment claims three men charged planted ‘fake’ weapon Over a year after she was found stabbed 11 times on Michael McKinney’s couch, Michael K. McKinney III, 24, Michael K. McKinney II, 56, and Josh Mullins, 23, were indicted in connection to Spradlin’s 2023 death.
Documents filed on Oct. 7 by Steven Romines on behalf of McKinney, also known as MK, requested that a full polygraph report and the questioning of 53-year-old Roy Kidd be released.
Roy Kidd details events leading to Amber Spradlin’s death
According to interview transcripts, Kidd was a friend of Spradlin’s and was present the night of her death. He told detectives that he had known Spradlin for around nine years.
“Normal day for me, and she was working. She had messaged me a couple of times throughout the day, did I want to go out to Seasons [Seasons Inn Motel and Restaurant] after she got off work,” Kidd told a detective. “Then she finally convinced me to and then she came and picked me up.”
He detailed that the group was drinking heavily that evening and closed down the bar.
“They close at 2:00, but we were all there until after 4:00 I would imagine,” Kidd said.
After that, Kidd reportedly left in “Mike’s Bronco” and headed to the Arkansas Creek home alongside Spradlin, Josh Mullin’s girlfriend, and two men charged in her death, MK, Josh Mullins.
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Once they returned home, Kidd said that the group continued drinking downstairs. He recalled drinking anywhere from 10 to 14 beers and mixed drinks on the night of June 18, 2022.
Kidd claimed that he and MK had a “serious talk” and claimed that MK was experiencing obsessive-compulsive disorder, “I was trying to help him because he always felt alone and nobody would talk to him about anything.” He alleged that MK left sometime overnight, and wasn’t at the home the following morning.
He stated that the last time he saw Spradlin alive was reportedly around 6 a.m., “she was behind
the bar with the rest of them, but it’s the last time. So, I said goodnight to everybody, and then I went upstairs.”
Once he was upstairs, Kidd told a detective that he allegedly fell “numerous” times, causing his chin to bleed, but he allegedly “cleaned it off” with his shirt before going to bed.
Read more of the latest Kentucky news Amber Spradlin’s body found
“Once I woke up, I went through the house. I was trying to — because I was looking for my
phone trying to call somebody to come get me,” Kidd said, describing the moments just before finding Spradlin’s body.
“I yelled her name twice, and I touched her shoulders, and I yelled her name twice, and then I
went straight—because Mike’s bedroom door it’s probably about eight or 10 feet from where she was sitting. I beat on his door. I said something’s happened,” Kidd continued. “And he come to the door and said ‘What?’ Then he seen her, and then he went back in his room. I said, ‘Call 911,’ and he went back in his room and made a couple of calls.”
Kidd believed that Michael McKinney, MK’s father, called his ex-wife before calling for help, according to the transcript.
“It was silence. Everybody was just sitting there with their heads down,” Kidd told a detective. “I was just in shock.”
The detective asked Kidd to clarify if anyone checked Spradlin for a pulse or tried to perform CPR, but allegedly no one did.
“Just by the appearance of her face, and I took her shoulders and then I, the dried blood, and I was like, oh, my professional opinion I would have thought it would be she was gone,” Kidd said.
Due to the blood allegedly being dry, Kidd told the detective on multiple occasions that there would be no reason for Spradlin’s blood to be found on him or his clothes, only his own from the fall.
Court documents allege he’s not telling the full story
On June 28, 2023, court documents show that Kidd submitted to a polygraph examination by a detective. According to the American Polygraph Association , a polygraph examination is used to measure a person’s physiological response to the questions asked.
According to the results, Kidd denied any knowledge or involvement in Spradlin’s death and didn’t provide any information that conflicted with his previous statements. However, “it was determined that deception was indicated when Roy [Kidd] was answering” the following questions:
- Did you see anyone stab or cut that woman?
- Did you stab or cut that woman?
- Did anyone tell you they stabbed or cut that woman?
- Did you help cover up that woman’s death?
The detective noted that Kidd answered each question with, “no.”
The motion, filed by MK’s attorney on Oct. 7, requests that the full results, including all charts and graphs, be released due to the new information presented in the motion.
According to the motion, Kidd’s blood was found at the scene where Spradlin died and his missing phone was found on the couch next to her body.
Read more of the latest Lexington & central Kentucky news It also alleges that around 6 a.m., when Kidd claimed he’d gone to bed, MK made a call to 911 requesting for an officer to remove Kidd from the home due to “unmanageable and dangerous” behavior. However, according to a wrongful death lawsuit , McKinney allegedly got on the call to “ensure that no emergency response was going to be sent.”
When detectives asked him about the 911 call, Kidd claimed it was the first time he’d heard of it and that he typically jokes, sits back, and relaxes when he’s intoxicated.
“Kidd appeared with counsel and again gave statements regarding his phone, his action that morning, and his behavior that night,” Romines wrote regarding Kidd’s June 28 interview. “These statements were wholly inconsistent with the physical evidence recovered by investigators.”
Furthermore, the motion alleges that when Kidd would be confronted “with the unreliability of his statements,” he’d end the interview with detectives.
‘It’s been a tough year’, family remembers Amber Spradlin one year anniversary According to Romines, Kidd is described as “the essential witness” in the prosecution and affirms that his alleged involvement be thoroughly investigated. He argues that the complete reports from the polygraph examination are crucial for the team’s defense.
Amber Spradlin’s family stands by his innocence
No charges have been filed against Kidd, and he continues to deny his involvement in Spradlin’s death.
“They are going to try to pull any trick that they can, smoke and mirrors, anything to shift the focus off of them and try to get the focus on somebody else,” Spradlin’s cousin, Debbie Hall, said. “It appears they’re just willing to throw an innocent person under the bus in an effort to try to help MK get out of trouble.”
Hall told FOX 56 that she’s been in contact with Kidd since Spradlin’s death, and believes that he’s innocent.
RELATED | New motion filed in Amber Spradlin murder case “He’s told us that he’s sorry and he’s praying for justice for Amber,” Hall said. “He said I can’t tell you very much but you know I loved her Amber and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her and I’ll do whatever I can to try to help you know get justice for her.”
She said that when arrests were made, she felt better but is still in shock from the community’s support for the McKinneys and is frustrated by the attempts to “cover up” what happened to her cousin.
“Now they’re trying to get him out of this, so he can continue to do the same thing, and I feel that he will kill again if he’s given a chance,” added Hall.
She also said that despite all of this, she has confidence that they will see a conviction and that the “guilty person will be made to pay.”
The motion will be brought before a judge at 2 p.m. on Oct. 24, per court documents.
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