Former Playboy Model Gets Prison Time in Slaying of Psychiatrist Found Dead in Her Las Vegas Car Trunk

On Tuesday, a former Playboy and Maxim model was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for killing a child psychiatrist she previously had a relationship with. The doctor's body was found bludgeoned to death in the trunk of Kelsey Turner's car, which had been abandoned in a desert outside Las Vegas in 2019.

In November, 29-year-old Turner agreed to an Alford plea, which allowed her to avoid going to trial in the case. The plea meant she didn't formally plead guilty, but she acknowledged there was enough evidence to prove her guilt in court. In exchange for the plea, she will be eligible for parole in 10 years.

The doctor, Thomas Kirk Burchard, 71, reportedly had a relationship with Turner and paid the rent on the Las Vegas house where she lived with her then-boyfriend, Jon Logan Dennison, and a roommate, Diana Nicole Pena. Dennison, who beat the man to death and stashed his body in the car trunk, has already been sentenced to 18 - 45 years for the crime. Pena pleaded guilty to accessory to murder and helped prosecutors with their case against Turner.

Burchard died after he tried to end the relationship with Turner, reports state. After he decided to cut her off, Turner alleged that Burchard had child porn on his phone, which was false. She also allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the doctor after he died, his longterm girlfriend claimed in court, saying Turner had fraudulently used Burchard's account to pay her bills.

"I never realized such evil existed in this world until this happened," Burchard's girlfriend, Judy Earp, said in court, per 8 News Now. "I do not want to spend the rest of my life constantly worrying and always looking over my shoulder, if or when she is granted parole."

Earp previously told KTNV she thought her boyfriend may have given Turner about $300,000 over the years. She also said he was "overly compassionate" and had given money to about half a dozen women over the course of 17 years.

"She was content to leave someone she knew for a number of years, who supported her and her child financially for a number of years, to rot in the back of the car in the desert that he paid for," Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Pamela Weckerly said in court, according to 8 News Now.

In 2019, Burchard was found dead in the trunk of Turner's blue Mercedes Benz near the entrance to the Lake Mead National Recreational Area in Las Vegas. According to an arrest warrant, his blood was found throughout the interior of the car, which Turner had allegedly purchased through Craigslist.

Officers found his body underneath clothing and bedding. Police also found evidence that attempts were made to clean the vehicle.

An autopsy determined that Burchard died from blunt force trauma to the head, with the manner ruled a homicide.

During her sentencing this week, Turner was also ordered to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees in the case.