Court records: Spradlin murder suspect’s lawyer may be in contempt of court

FLOYD COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The defense attorney for a man recently indicted and arrested for murder could be found in contempt of court.

Attorney Randy Martin O’Neal, defense attorney for 24-year-old Michael McKinney III, is expected to appear in court Monday, Aug. 19, to show cause as to why he should not be held in contempt of court regarding a motion he filed with the court.

O’Neal filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against McKinney III, last week. McKinney III is accused of murdering Amber Spradlin in June 2023.

McKinney III, Michael McKinney II, 56, and Josh Mullins, 23, all of Martin, Kentucky, were indicted on July 30 in connection to Spradlin’s death back in June 2023. She was found dead in a home along Arkansas Creek Road in Martin. She was 38 years old.

The documents allege the indictment was not returned in open court or filed with the Circuit Clerk before the indictment warrant was issued or served, causing “a significant defect in the indictment which cannot be cured at this point.”

The motion said the indictment not being returned in open court breaches “the secrecy of the grand jury” and “prejudices the Defendant by undermining the integrity of the grand jury process.”

According to a Show Cause Order filed Friday, Aug. 9 claims that the Court could not find three citations referenced in a footnote on the third page of O’Neal’s motion. Court officials tried to locate those three cases on Westlaw, but were unsuccessful and then tried to have the court’s staff attorney independently search for them. According to the Show Cause Order, the staff attorney could not find the cases either.

The Show Cause Order lists the cited cases as:

• Commonwealth v. Hill, 263 SW 3d 692 (Ky. 2008)
• Commonwealth v. Morris, 283 SW 2d 213 (Ky. 1955)
• Goodpaster v. Commonwealth, 311 Ky. 321,224, SW 2d 897 (1949)

According to the Show Cause Order, the court ordered O’Neal to give the court “copies of the referenced cases, and or corrected citations of those cases.” The Show Cause Order also states that the court was “hopeful that counsel had not cited fictious [sic] cases.”

Court documents say the defense then filed an amended version of the motion to dismiss that did not correct the citations or provide copies of the cases that had been cited. However, the new version of the motion cited cases that do exist in place of the three originally cited that the court could not find.

The amended motion listed the cases of:

• Commonwealth v Karnes, 657 SW 2d 583 (Ky. 1983)
• Mederith v Commonwealth, 201 Ky. 809 (Ky. 1924)
• Miller V. Commonwealth, 270 Ky. 378 (Ky. 1937)

Because the court says O’Neal has not offered an explanation for “what appears to be a breach of his duty to be candid with the Court,” the Show Cause Order was filed.

The hearing has been set for 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 19, in the Floyd Circuit Courtroom.

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