Woman gets prison sentence for doctor's killing in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The woman charged in the 2019 murder of a California doctor in Las Vegas has received her prison sentence.
Kelsey Turner was formally sentenced in Clark County District Court on Tuesday to 10 to 25 years of incarceration.
Turner, now 29, reached an Alford plea on a second-degree murder charge back in November in connection with the killing of Thomas Kirk Burchard. The agreement means that Turner accepts she would have likely been found guilty at trial, but she does not admit to any guilt.
Authorities said the body of Burchard, a 71-year-old California psychiatrist, was found in a car abandoned near Lake Mead in March 2019.
The investigation led police to a home near Amigo Street and Warm Springs Road in Las Vegas. According to police, detectives found blood in the home and efforts to clean it up. They learned the house was rented, and the rent was paid for by Burchard.
Turner was arrested and charged in the case, along with co-defendants Jon Kennison and Diana Pena. Investigators alleged Turner, a former model, had been intimate with Burchard and was Kennison's girlfriend.
Pena pleaded guilty to an accessory charge and testified against Kennison and Turner, saying Turner and Burchard got into a fight after Turner became "upset about photos and messages on the doctor's phone."
Pena testified that she saw Kennison raise a baseball bat in Dr. Burchard's direction, but she didn’t see the bat strike him. She described a bruise on Burchard's head and said Kennison later wrestled with him.
Kennison asked Pena to get out of the car and go clean the bloody house, she testified. She said she then heard Turner demand Kennison go and "knock Thomas out."
Kennison pleaded guilty last year to charges of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to 18 to 45 years and he is currently being held at High Desert State Prison.
