This week, a former Playboy model charged with the second-degree murder of a 71-year-old psychiatrist who was allegedly helping her pay the bills before being beaten to death in Las Vegas entered a guilty plea.
According to records from the Clark County District Court, Kelsey Turner, 29, was detained and charged with murder and conspiracy to murder Thomas Burchard of Salinas, California, in April 2019.
According to court records, Turner pleaded guilty to Alford on Wednesday. Turner maintained her innocence but pled guilty to a charge of second-degree murder as part of an agreement negotiated between the lawyers involved in the case.
According to Las Vegas police, Burchard traveled to Las Vegas from California, where Turner was living at the time, to break up with her after a two-year relationship in which he reportedly gave her an allowance that included paying her rent, according to The Californian, a publication affiliated with the USA TODAY Network.
According to the outlet, Burchard was later discovered dead in the trunk of a broken-down Mercedes-Benz. After Burchard’s longtime girlfriend reported him missing, police discovered the car on a desert road close to Lake Mead and determined that he had died from blunt force trauma to the head.
According to a warrant, Judy Earp, Burchard’s girlfriend, reportedly thought Turner might be involved. Earp revealed to The Californian that during the previous two years, her lover had provided the younger woman at least $300,000.
Despite not personally meeting the model, Earp claimed that Burchard and Turner had been friends for two years. “He was always helping people,” Earp said. “Anybody with a sad story, you know. Some people took advantage of that.”
According to court records, a grand jury indicted Turner and Jon “Logan” Kennison on May 31, 2019, for the man’s murder.
According to court records, Diana Pena, another co-defendant in the case, entered a guilty plea to accessory to murder in June 2019. The couple’s roommate Pena reportedly told a grand jury that she saw Kennison smash a baseball bat at Burchard, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
After Burchard was hit with the bat, Turner and Kennison intended to take him to the hospital, according to the outlet. However, Turner later demanded that Kennison “knock Thomas out,” according to Pena’s testimony.
In June, Kennison entered a plea of guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to murder, and he was given a sentence of up to 45 years in prison. According to court documents, Turner will get sentencing on the charge in January.