25-Year-Old Playboy Model, Roommate Arrested In Connection To Murder Of California Doctor

A 25-year-old Playboy model and her roommate have been arrested in connection with the murder of California-based psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Kirk Burchard, who was found dead in the trunk of a Mercedes Benz belonging to the model on March 7, just outside Las Vegas.

Kelsey Nichole Turner, a mother and a model who has been featured in “Maxim” and “Playboy Italia,” was arrested weeks after Burchard’s partly-clothed body was recovered in her car, a report from the New York Daily News said. Turner has since been extradited to Las Vegas and will face murder charges in June, The Californian reported.

Over the weekend, Turner’s roommate, Diana Nicole Pena, handed herself over to police in connection to the murder. Pena “faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder with the use of a deadly weapon” in the doctor’s death, The Californian reported.

The report from The Californian noted that a police warrant indicated that Pena, a bartender at Caesars Palace, stopped showing up for work after March 6 and was suspected of leaving Nevada. The 30-year-old “rented a room at the Rio All-Suites March 4 until March 9, when housekeeping personnel discovered her property was in the room but she was not.” Hotel security told authorities that Pena likely left the Rio All-Suites on March 8.

Another named suspect is Turner’s boyfriend, Jon Logan Kennison. The boyfriend, who remains at-large, may be charged with murder and conspiracy. He was reportedly willing to corporate with authorities until he was named a suspect in the case.

All three suspects were living in a home that was being paid for by Dr. Burchard. “Turner, Pena and Kennison abruptly moved out of the home, despite March’s rent being paid,” Det. Mitchell Dosch wrote in a warrant. A report from The Californian said a warrant for the model claimed “blood stains were found throughout Turner’s home, including in the garage and an upstairs bedroom.”

“The car in which Burchard’s remains were discovered belonged to Turner and all three suspects’ fingerprints were found inside the vehicle, police said. A card from where Pena works as a bartender, Cesar’s Palace, was also found inside the Mercedes,” the New York Daily News noted, adding, “The Clark County Coroner ruled Burchard died around midday on March 3 from head injuries after being struck multiple times with an unidentified object, which authorities said left a distinct pattern.”

The victim’s longtime girlfriend, Judy Earp, says Burchard gave Turner some $300,000 over the course of the past two years, The Californian reported.