PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WMDJ) – Defendants charged in connection to the murder of Amber Spradlin appeared for their first pretrial conference in Pike County Court Thursday.

M.K. McKinney, Dr. Michael McKinney, and Josh Mullins have all been charged with eight counts of tampering with physical evidence in the murder of Spradlin. M.K. McKinney has been charged with Amber’s murder.

Attorneys discussed the December 1st trial date and the timeline required to have all of the evidence and expert information in place. Commonwealth Attorney Brett Turner referred to proposed trial date as “a fluid situation” with the possibility of new evidence being presented.

The next scheduled pretrial conference is set for October 23rd.