According to court records, an ex-Playboy model who was accused of murdering a 71-year-old psychiatrist who police said was helping pay for her bills, has agreed to a plea deal.
The police arrested and charged Kelsey Turner, 29, with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the April 2019 death of Thomas Burchard of Salinas, California, whom authorities said was paying Turner’s rent.
According to police, Burchard was found bludgeoned to death in the trunk of Turner’s Mercedes Benz after traveling to Las Vegas to inform her that her lifestyle would no longer be supported by him. Police found Burchard’s abandoned car near Lake Mead after his long-term girlfriend reported him missing. Burchard died of blunt force trauma to the head, they said.
According to the plea agreement, Turner has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Clark County District Court. The agreement stipulates that the other charges she faces will be dismissed when she is sentenced.
In this case, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office reached an Alford plea agreement. Despite pleading guilty, Turner maintained her innocence knowing that a jury would have convicted her based on the evidence presented by prosecutors.
The Clark County Detention Center is holding Turner while she awaits trial after she pleaded not guilty to her initial charges. Her sentencing date has now been set for Jan. 10, 2023, and she faces a prison sentence of 10 to 25 years.
A plea deal has also been reached with two of the accused accomplices in the murder of Burchard.
Earlier this year, Turner’s co-defendant and former boyfriend, Jon Kennison, was found guilty of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and was sentenced to 18 to 25 years.
Diana Pena, the former couple’s roommate, pleaded guilty to accessory to murder in 2019 and hasn’t been sentenced.