A 71-year-old California psychiatrist was found dead near Las Vegas, and it is suspected that a young, 25-year-old woman is his murderer. The sad twist: Dr. Thomas Burchard was paying rent for the very woman accused of killing him. The woman is currently facing extradition and will need to consult with a criminal defense attorney in Las Vegas to answer to the serious charges against her.
How Did the Accused and the Victim Know Each Other?
Judy Earp was Thomas Burchard’s girlfriend and confirmed that 25-year-old Kelsey Turner of Salinas, California could not qualify to rent a place she wished to rent. Burchard signed the lease for Kelsey and ended up paying her rent for several months.
Facebook and Instagram accounts reveal Kelsey Turner as a model who lived in Las Vegas and appeared in magazines such as Playboy Italia and Maxim.
Judy Earp said that Thomas Burchard helped a lot of people in his life; this young woman was not the first or only one. However, it appears Turner received quite a bit of “help” from Burchard over the time during which she knew him. Earp reported that Burchard gave Kelsey Turner about $300,000.
Why, then, would Kelsey bite the hand that feeds her?
It turns out that Turner was evicted from the home in Salinas, though it was unclear when. Earp reported that Burchard stopped paying her rent simply because the lease was over.
The Victim Was Discovered in the Las Vegas Desert
Burchard’s body was discovered in the trunk of an abandoned vehicle in a desert area along East Lake Mead Boulevard. He died from blunt force injury to the head, according to the Clark County coroner’s office. It was ruled as a homicide.
Suspect Arrested in California
Turner was taken to the San Joaquin County Jail, awaiting extradition to Clark County. She faces a murder charge. Further information about her arrest, or how detectives decided she was a suspect, was not available.
Dr. Thomas Burchard had worked near Salinas for nearly 40 years in the medical nonprofit’s behavioral health program. Judy Earp reported she did not believe Kelsey was a patient of his, and she was not sure how they knew each other. Kelsey’s family declined to comment.
Earp also said that she and her boyfriend, Burchard, traveled the country together for medical and magic conferences since the doctor’s hobby was performing various magic tricks. The two had most recently visited Las Vegas for a medical conference in February.