Video summary
In a significant legal development at Pike Circuit Court, prosecutors are requesting permission to introduce evidence regarding two prior knife incidents involving accused killer MK McKenna into his upcoming murder trial. McKenna faces charges for the June 2023 stabbing death of Amber Spradlin, an attack where she was reportedly stabbed at least a dozen times in the head and neck. The prosecution argues that testimony about these previous events is crucial because they reveal a consistent pattern of dangerous behavior; one incident occurred roughly four months before the murder where McKenna threatened to kill everyone present with a knife, and another happened between six months and a year prior when he brandished a butcher knife at a gathering. While the defense has asked for McKenna's home incarceration restrictions to be lifted to allow him to work while awaiting trial, the judge will ultimately decide whether these past threats are admissible after reviewing the defense's response.
Shifting focus to community safety, National Child Passenger Safety Week began on Monday, September 21st, with the Floyd County Sheriff's Office leading efforts to educate parents and grandparents on the proper installation of child safety seats. Sheriff John Hunt emphasized that while owning a seat is only the first step, ensuring it is correctly installed and maintained is vital for reducing injury risks during travel. The department has made inspectors available daily to help families check their seats for loose belts, intact safety features, and correct routing through the vehicle's grooves. Hunt noted that many people are unaware of the specific details required for a secure installation, and he encouraged community members to not only get their own seats checked but also to assist friends and relatives in doing the same, as small adjustments can potentially save lives.
The broadcast also highlighted the strong sense of community spirit in Pikeville through the annual "Cuffs and Hoses" block party, which raised funds for the Christmas with a First Responder program. This event, hosted by local police and firefighters, brought together residents, vendors, and students from KYCOM and the medical school to participate in 5K and 10K races while supporting the purchase of holiday gifts for children in the Pike County region. New firefighter EMT Connor Bronn Haver shared his enthusiasm for the event, noting that joining the fire department was about serving people rather than just fighting fires. He expressed passion for using these community gatherings to teach fire prevention and connect with families, viewing the event as a way to show that first responders are dedicated to helping neighbors even outside of emergency situations.
Rounding out the local news, the program provided updates on upcoming high school sports matchups, including a rival volleyball game between Pikeville and Paintsville and a middle school football contest between the Pike Bull Panthers and Hazard Bulldogs. Additionally, a segment featured Ned Pillarsdorf, a pro bono attorney advocating for vulnerable individuals in courtrooms and classrooms, who is now bringing his mission to Washington. The broadcast concluded with a message from Appalachin Wireless, which positioned itself as a local alternative to major carriers by offering dependable service without hidden fees or confusing bills, reinforcing the station's commitment to keeping the community connected through simple, local solutions.
Read the full video transcript
Prosecutors ask a judge to allow
evidence that an accused killer
previously threatened others. And area
police and others are raising awareness
about the importance of child safety
seats this week. I'm Jerry Scott and
this is the Mountaintop Daily.
Prosecutors are asking a Pike Circuit
Court judge to allow testimony about two
previous knife incidents involving MK
McKenna and his father's home in Martin.
McKenna is charged with murdering Amber
Spradlin in June 2023. Prosecutors say
she was stabbed at least a dozen times
in the head and neck. The first incident
allegedly happened about four months
before Spradlin's death. Prosecutors say
McKenna pulled a knife during a
gathering and threatened to kill
everyone there. The second allegedly
occurred between 6 months and a year
before the murder. Prosecutors say
McKenna came downstairs carrying a
butcher knife and told guests it was
time to leave. The Commonwealth says the
incidents show a similar pattern of
behavior and are relevant to the murder
case. The judge will decide whether the
evidence can be presented at trial after
the defense response. The notice comes
after McKenna asked the court to allow
him to leave home incarceration for work
while awaiting trial.
This week, the National Highway Safety
Administration is hoping to raise
awareness about the importance of child
safety seats by holding the Child
Passenger Safety Week. And while having
a child safety seat is a good first
step, there is more to know, such as
getting the right seat for your child
and making sure it is installed
correctly. Nick spoke with the Floyd
County Sheriff about the issue.
>> Monday, September 21st is the first day
of National Child Passenger Safety Week,
and the Floyd County Sheriff's Office is
doing their part to inform the public.
They want to make sure parents and
grandparents are properly installing
child seats in their vehicles to reduce
the possibility of injury while
traveling. Floyd County Sheriff John
Hunt tells us more.
>> Bring awareness and try to just make
sure that people are uh paying attention
to details on their child safety seats
that they're buckled in right and
properly. And most people don't know
that there is an actual, you know, legit
way to do those and put them in
correctly. But um and that's all it is
is that it to bring awareness of of that
and to make sure that people take the
time to uh look at their child safety
seats periodically, check for safety
features, make sure that they're the
seats intact, the belts tight, and we do
have inspectors here um that have been
trained to to install these seats that
are here at the office eight eight hours
a day, five days a week. So if anybody
wanted to come by even and
[clears throat] have somebody to look at
their safety seat, they can do that.
Hunt says this is an educational
opportunity for parents who want to
better care for their children. Parents
can then tell their friends and
relatives with children and potentially
save a life.
>> You'd be surprised obviously when if
somebody comes by and asks one of our
guys to go out and look at their seat.
They'll make some kind of adjustment or
correction that was improperly probably
or not snug at least, you know, a couple
times a month that somebody will ask and
and want help with. the more education
you get, the more awareness you have.
And uh pay attention to your sibling,
you know, your brother or sister who's
putting in a car seat and and to know
that and be educated on it and to help
somebody else put it in correctly uh may
save a life. You never know. Somebody's
you can get in somebody's car seat and
and look at how they're tightened up and
some of them will be loose. Uh they just
need to be snugged in good and tight and
run through the proper uh grooves in the
back of the seat that the that's made
for the seat belt to run through. Just
little things that uh can really ensure
a little bit more safety of the of the
car seat installment.
>> Reporting from Mountaintop News, I'm
Nick Colum.
>> Coming up after the break, Pikeville
first responders spend the weekend
raising money for kids. We'll take you
to the Cuffs and Hoses block party when
the Mountaintop Daily continues. But
first, sports and weather.
>> How's it going everyone? I'm Olivia
Stanley and this is your Mountaintop
sports recap.
First up, if you missed any Friday Night
Football, Pikeville versus Belfrey
Classic Rival Showdown, don't worry. We
have your highlights and photos up on
our Mountaintop Sports Facebook page.
Mountaintop Sports is back with all the
action this week. We bring you tonight a
huge rival game with Pikeville versus
Paintsville girls volleyball live at
Pikeville High School. The first ball
will be served at 7:30 p.m. The sideline
show with Denny Paul and Zach Acres will
be moved to tomorrow, Tuesday, September
22nd, this week at 6:30 at BDubs of
Pikeville. Make sure to check it out and
see another special guest on sideline.
This Thursday night, catch the junior
high Pike Bull Panthers take on the
Hazard Bulldogs in middle school
football action. 8th grade night will
begin at 6:00 and kickoff at 7:30. Watch
it live on the Mountaintop Sports
Facebook page or the Mountaintop TV app.
September 25th, our crew will be
covering Friday Night Lights, Eastridge
at Bitsy Lane with kickoff at 7:30.
Watch it live on the Mountaintop Sports
Facebook page or the Mountaintop TV app.
I'm Olivia Stanley and that's your
Mountaintop Sports Recap. For the latest
sports, be sure to follow Mountaintop
Sports on Facebook, Instagram, and X, or
visit mountain-topsports.com.
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Over the weekend, Pikeville police and
firefighters hosted their annual 5K and
10K to raise money for Christmas with
the first responder. But the event is
much bigger than a foot race. Connor
takes us downtown for all the fun. On
Saturday the 19th, this year's Cops and
Hoses event was held in downtown
Pikeville. With police and firefighters
hosting this event to raise money for
their Christmas with a first responder
event coming up, people from all around
came out to participate. Here we have
Pikeville City Police Information
Officer Tyson Lockidge to tell us more.
>> This is our Cuffs and Hoses block party.
And what this is is a time for the
community to come together and um we
have a 5K 10K race. all of the community
vendors. We've got a ton of people out
here um so that way they can have some
involvement as well. But what this is is
it's an event that goes towards
Christmas with the first responder that
um at the end of the year, our officers
along with the fire department and also
our dispatchers and even some of the
city employees, they will come together
and purchase Christmas gifts for kids um
throughout the Pike County region. We've
already got 150 people registered to
race. Obviously, all of those funds will
go directly into that program to give
back to the kids. So, I want people to
know how thankful we truly are for the
funds that are given and the time that
is donated. Um, we have students from
KYCOM, the medical school here at Upup.
They come out and donate their time to
help set up. They run some of the
different booths and things throughout
the event. Um, so we have a ton of
community members that are that are
coming out and donating not only
financially but also their time and we
are so thankful because this event could
not go on without them. So we want to
make sure that they're um thanked
appropriately and we we truly could not
do it without them.
>> The event is held every year and new
people come out each time, even some of
our new firefighters. Here we have
Connor Bronn Haver, first year
firefighter EMT with the Pikeville Fire
Department to tell us about his first
year thoughts. Yeah. So, this is my
first uh Cuffs and Hoses event. Um, and
I look forward to the future. I heard
that it's grown um since years past and
so I look forward to uh to seeing how
that'll go and and I'm I'm pretty
passionate about teaching fire
prevention and kind of, you know,
showing kids our fire trucks and our
tools and kind of what we do in our job.
I look forward to getting the schools to
do that, too. But for me, you know, join
the fire department, I didn't join it
just to fight fire. Um I I came for for
people to serve people and this is this
is one way that we do that. Uh uh the
fire service is customer service and
we're here for for people to serve
people um help them with you know not
only emergencies but also just connect
with them, have fun with them, teach
them fire prevention and and safety
even. So really passionate about you
know the Christmas with the first
responder so that we can help kids, you
know, get gifts and stuff for when
Christmas comes around. So I think it
means a lot to to me to the you know
fire department, police department and
dispatch city of Pikeville to be able to
do that for our community and come out
here have fun and provide an opportunity
for vendors to be able to sell their
product and just have a good time
together.
>> Reporting for Mountaintop News, I'm
Connor K.
>> That will do it for this edition of the
Mountaintop Daily. Be sure to check us
out at 6 p.m. every weekday on
Mountaintop TV, the Mountaintop TV app,
and the Mountaintop News Facebook page.
With your Mountaintop Daily, I'm Jerry
Scott for Mountaintop News.