More details emerge in murder of elderly psychiatrist
Two women have now been arrested in connection to the murder of a 71-year-old California psychiatrist who was found bludgeoned to death in the trunk of a car outside Las Vegas.
The attorney for a former Playboy model accused with two other people of killing a California psychiatrist in Las Vegas said his client had no role in the doctor’s death.
Kelsey Nichole Turner, 25, “categorically denies any role in the death of Dr. [Thomas Kirk] Burchard,” Brian James Smith, the model’s attorney, told The Associated Press. Turner was arrested on March 21 in Stockton, California. She is currently behind bars at the Clark County Jail in Las Vegas and being held without bail.
Burchard, 71, was discovered in the trunk of a blue Mercedes-Benz on March 7 near the entrance to the Lake Mead National Recreational Area in Las Vegas. Investigators spoke with Turner’s landlord, who told them the doctor paid for her rent on March 1 and “her lease was paid through June 2019,” KSNV reported which obtained the court records stated.
Burchard's girlfriend of 17 years, Judy Earp, said that Burchard had given Turner at least $300,000 over the years that she knew of, and that she considers Turner "as evil as Charles Manson." He reportedly gave a number of other women money over the course of their relationship, she said. Earp added that she believed Burchard was in the early stages of Alzheimer's at the time of his death.
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On Saturday, a second woman, Diana Nicole Pena, 30, was arrested in connection with the doctor’s death. She surrendered to police in Las Vegas. Her attorney, Jess Matsuda, said his client didn’t kill Burchard. She was jailed without bail.
A third person -- Turner’s boyfriend Jon Logan Kennison -- remains wanted on murder and conspiracy charges. Pena is accused of working with Turner and Kennison to murder the doctor, according to The Californian. The three lived together at an apartment in Las Vegas.
Fox News’ Anna Hopkins and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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