Former Playboy model sentenced for alleged role in death of psychiatrist who was paying her rent
Gregory Robinson
Featured Image Credit: WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy / Law & Crime
A former Playboy model has been sentenced for her alleged role in the death of a psychiatrist who was paying her rent.
Kelsey Turner, 29, was arrested in 2019 after the body of Dr Thomas Burchard, 71, was found bludgeoned to death and stuffed in the boot of the accused's Mercedes Benz.
According to prosecutors, the pair had a 'transactional' relationship, with the psychiatrist covering the bills and rent on Turner’s Las Vegas apartment.
However, after he 'abruptly' stopped supplying funds, Turner, her two kids and her mom were kicked out of the $3,200-a-month home.
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Prosecutors went on to accuse Turner, who modelled for Playboy Italia and Maxim, of being involved in Burchard's death.
Burchard had travelled to Las Vegas to tell Turner that he would no longer be paying her rent, ABC reports.
He died of blunt force trauma to the head and the car he was in was found abandoned on a desert road.
Judy Earp, Burchard's girlfriend, told Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNV that her then-partner had spent more than $300,000 on Turner.
“The last conversation I had with him, he had to go to Las Vegas to check things out because she was a compulsive liar,” she told the network.
Turner entered an Alford plea in November 2022 and on Tuesday (10 January), she was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in Nevada state prison for her role in the psychiatrist’s death.
Prior to her sentencing on Tuesday, Turner had been detained at the Clark County Detention Center while awaiting trial and had previously pleaded not guilty to her initial charges after being arrested in March 2019.
When she entered the Alford plea last year, she was aware of the sentence she faced and agreed to enter the plea on one charge of murder in the second degree in exchange for guaranteed parole eligibility after a decade behind bars, Law and Crime reports.
Criminal defendants like Turner can maintain their innocence by taking an Alford plea, while simultaneously accept that the evidence against them would likely be enough to convince a judge or jury of their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Clark County prosecutors accused Turner and her then-boyfriend, Jon Kennison, of beating Burchard to death.
Kennison previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy, and was given a sentence of 18 to 45 years in prison.
The couple’s former roommate, Diana Nicole Pena, pleaded guilty to one charge of accessory to murder in June 2019, insisting she didn’t play a role in the bludgeoning.