Attorney: Kelsey Turner pleads not guilty in Monterey doctor’s death

UPDATE (5:00 p.m., 4/13/19): The attorney for Kelsey Turner, the woman accused in the murder of a Monterey doctor, says she pleaded not guilty, Saturday.

Brian Smith tells KION that Turner appeared in a Clark County, Nevada, courtroom, Saturday for her initial appearance. Smith says it is unusual for this to happen on a Saturday. He expects to request bail – “in the future.” Turner has previously been held without bail.

Turner is being charged with Open Murder in the death of Monterey doctor Thomas Burchard. She was arrested in Stockton on March 21 and was recently extradited from San Joaquin County, California, to Clark County, Nevada, where Burchard’s body was found. Authorities discovered Burchard beaten to death, on March 7, in the back of a car reportedly owned by Turner. Documents from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, recently released by the Las Vegas Justice Court, show that Turner, 25, was in an “intimate” relationship with Burchard, 71.

There are currently two other people wanted in connection with the murder of Burchard – Jon Logan Kennison and Diana Nicole Pena. The declaration of warrants for Kennison and Pena show that their fingerprints were found in the Mercedes in which Burchard’s body was found. It also claims that Kennison is Turner’s current boyfriend.

ORIGINAL REPORT (4/13/19):

A suspect in the murder of Dr. Thomas Burchard had an arrest warrant return hearing Saturday afternoon in Clark County, Nevada.

During the hearing Kelsey Turner’s preliminary hearing was set for Monday, June 3. The court also confirmed her court-appointed attorney, Brian Smith. We have reached out to Smith for more information about the hearing but have not received a reply yet.

Turner was moved to the Clark County Jail on Friday from the San Joaquin County Jail.

Jon Logan Kennison and Diana Nicole Pena are also wanted in connection with the murder.