According to Clark County, Nevada, records and local reports, former Playboy model Kelsey Turner has entered a guilty plea for the killing of California psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Burchard.
On March 7, 2019, authorities found Burchard’s body in an abandoned car on State Route 147 near Lake Mead outside Las Vegas after Turner, 28, and her boyfriend, Jon Logan Kennison, 30, were arrested.
During their two-year relationship, Burchard gave Turner an allowance totaling approximately $300,000 to fund her lifestyle, according to police.
Burchard’s body was found hidden in Turner’s Mercedes trunk after Turner and Kennison beat him with a baseball bat.
The plea deal involves Turner maintaining her innocence but pleading guilty to second-degree murder in Clark County District Court. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Kennison pleaded guilty in June to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 18-45 years in prison.
The couple’s roommate, Diana Pena, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder in 2019 after witnessing Kennison hit Burchard with a baseball bat at their Las Vegas home.
The Review-Journal reported that Pena witnessed Kennison covered in blood after Turner encouraged Kennison to “knock Thomas out.”
His death was ruled a homicide because of blunt force injuries to the head.
According to the Review-Journal, Burchard worked nearly four decades in Montage Health’s behavioral health program before he chose not to retire at 65.
In a statement at the time, Montage Health spokeswoman Mary Barker said “Dr. Burchard was a psychiatrist in our behavioral health program for almost 40 years and helped many patients.” “It’s a very sad situation, and our hearts go out to his family, friends, patients, and colleagues. The staff has been provided with grief counseling.”