Dateline NBC - Kentucky prosecutor wants trial of dentist's son delayed. Cal Harris sues cops. Plus, rental scams.

Episode Date: November 13, 2025

Two years after Amber Spradlin was found stabbed to death in a dentist's living room, the murder trial of her alleged killer - the dentist's son - is put on hold. In 2017, after standing trial for a fourth time, Cal Harris was acquitted of the 2001 murder of his wife. Recently, a jury heard testimony in his lawsuit accusing investigators of a "malicious prosecution." And, NBC News' Vicky Nguyen warns about the red flags to look out for when renting an apartment.  Find out more about the cases covered each week here: www.datelinetruecrimeweekly.com   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

They said on the Today Show that there were snowflakes on the plaza. It's the start of another workday here at Dateline headquarters. It certainly was cold enough for a little snowflake. Our producers are catching up on breaking crime news. The husband is speaking out saying I had nothing to do with it. There was no date for that rich hour. She wrote in her diary that if I end up dead, then my husband did it. Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly.

I'm Andrea Canning. It's November 13th, and here's what's on our story. docket. In upstate New York, a man who stood trial four times for his wife's murder and was acquitted takes the investigators to court. From his perspective, they put him through hell, four trials, three years behind bars and many years of separation from his children. In Dateline Roundup, updates on the case of Cato Scott, the murdered aspiring beauty queen, and former baseball pitcher and convicted killer, Dan Serafini, pushes for a new trial. Serfee News defense attorney questioned the juror in front of the judge about how she used computer tools to review evidence during the case. Plus rental scams on social media are on the rise.

NBC News chief consumer investigative correspondent Vicki Wynn tells us what to watch out for. They rip off a bunch of people and disappear. Before all that, we're heading to a small town in eastern Kentucky where the son of a local dentist is behind bars awaiting trial for murder. His dad has been charged too with helping him cover it up. In June 2023, Amber Spradlin, a 38-year-old restaurant hostess in Preston'sburg, Kentucky, was found stabbed to death in the home of Dr. Michael McKinney, the town dentist. For over a year, there were no arrests. Then, in August 2024, the dentist's son, Michael, or M.K., as he's called,

was charged with Amber's murder and multiple counts of tampering with evidence. The dentist and a family friend were also charged. charged with tampering with evidence. Their trial was expected to begin in December. All three men have pleaded not guilty. But at a recent pretrial hearing, the prosecutor urged the judge to give him more time. The defense wasn't having any of it. It's not fair for someone who's never been charged with a crime to sit in jail while they

get their ducks in a row for a case that they brought. Here to tell us why the prosecutor wants to put the brakes on the case and what the judge decided is my friend and colleague, Dateline correspondent, Blaine Alexander. Hey, Blaine. Hi, Andrea. Glad to join you. Yeah. So, okay, before we dive into the allegations and talk about what's going on in the courtroom, tell us about Amber. I know you've been working on this story for a while. Yeah, well, Andrea, Amber loved her family. That's the first thing that her cousin, Debbie Hall told me. She was just really, really close to all of her family members. She had a huge smile, a tremendous personality. She worked at a local restaurant called Brickhouse, where she loved to talk to customers

and really just enjoyed being social and flashing that big smile to everyone. Which makes, you know, her final moments, her last hours, all the more heartbreaking. Tell us about what we know. Well, we know that on the night of June 17th, Amber finished up her shift at that restaurant, Rick House, and she went to a bar with a friend, Roy Kidd. That's where she and Roy bumped into the dentist, Dr. Michael McKinney, and his son, M.K., they all wound up going back to the dentist's house to just hang out and have a few more drinks together. Well, the next morning, according to prosecutors, it was Roy Kidd who found Amber dead on the living room couch and then went over into the next room to get the dentist's help. The dentist called 911

and told dispatch, quote, it looks like somebody's came into the house and effing murdered her. There's blood everywhere. Now, according to the autopsy report, Amber had been stabbed at least 12 times, Andrea. It was just truly a horrible scene. A year later, police arrested M.K., the son, and he was charged with Amber's murder. What evidence do prosecutors say implicates him in the murder? Well, according to the prosecution, the medical examiner found DNA under Amber's fingernails, which matched the McKinney's. Now, that could be either the dad or the son, and that the pattern of her wound suggested that she tried to fight off her attacker. Now, the prosecution notes that M.K. had these suspicious scratches on his forearms, and his dad didn't have any of those

scratches. So that led investigators to conclude that M.K. was the person that Amber had been trying to fight off. Yeah. So law enforcement thinks this is a night that went very bad. But why? What was the motive? What are they suggesting? Well, so far, they don't have any idea of a motive. But at last year's bond hearing, the prosecutor told the judge that MK had a history of violent outbursts and mental instability. The prosecutor also told the judge that Roy Kidd, the friend who found Amber's body, who was there that night, said that M.K. had told him he sometimes heard voices telling him to kill himself and to do bad things. The defense has pushed back against this idea of M.K. as being dangerous and said Roy Kidd is not a reliable witness. Right. You know, the defense is really slamming

this entire idea of M.K. being violent. Basically saying that M.K. has had no criminal record. And in court filings, they have planted this idea that Roy Kidd could just as well be the killer. The defense is alleging that Roy had been, quote, intoxicated to the point of belligerence that night. Okay, so we should say Roy Kidd has not been charged with anything. And the prosecutor says he's been fully cooperative with investigators. So the judge said MK's bond at $5 million and he's been in jail for more than a year. His father, the dentist, and the family friend got out on bond. Blaine, what exactly are they accused of doing with these allegations that they helped cover up

this crime. Well, Andrea, the prosecutor alleges that M.K., his dad, and that friend, a guy named Josh Mullins, got rid of evidence, including MK.'s clothes from that night, a home security camera, a computer hard drive, and a knife handle, all in an attempt to cover up what happened. Now, it's important to note that they have all denied those allegations. So fast forward to last week, trial was supposed to start on December 1st, but at the last minute, the prosecution filed a motion asking to postpone. What is there grounds for this possible postponement? Well, the prosecutor has said that he's still awaiting results from the state crime lab. Now, he mentioned DNA testing that's been done on blood that was found on

Amber's clothing as well as blood on the couch where Amber's body was found and blood on Dr. McKinney's bedroom door. The prosecutor said that there also appeared to be blood in the sink traps of the house. And finally, he mentioned that he'd like to test what appeared to be hairs on Amber's clothes. Okay. So do we know why this is all taking so long? Well, the prosecutor explained that, quite frankly, there's a backlog in Kentucky crime labs. He said that the lab has been pushing ahead, just moving as quickly as they can, but it still takes time. I think public and everybody has this idea that they got some big assembly line of DNA people like on CSI that's, you know, getting done, they don't do that.

They don't have the resources to do that, I wish they did. The judge asked the prosecution why they even needed this evidence, and the prosecutor said it was a big deal. Why does he think it's a big deal? Well, the prosecutor pointed out that Roy Kidd had been bleeding that night, too. He had cut himself at some point during that party. The prosecutor said that they needed to do the testing to know exactly whose blood was where throughout the house. The defense told the judge, enough is enough, that MK has been asking for a speedy trial since the get-go, and it's time to go to trial. So his attorney suggested that the state wants this extra testing because, in the defense's words, their case against M.K. is weak.

He also asked the judge to modify M.K.'s bond so that he could get out of jail. They can't say, we're not ready for trial because our case isn't strong enough. but say simultaneously, our case is so strong, he's got to be held in jail on a $5 million bond. You can't do it. You can't have your cake and eat it too. What did the judge ultimately decide? Well, the judge decided to put the trial on hold. Now, as for the next steps, we know that there is a hearing coming up, and that's when attorneys will iron out those next steps.

Okay, well, we will have you back on to talk about that, Blaine. Thank you so much for bringing us this big update. Of course, thank you. Coming up, Cal Harris stood trial four times for his wife's murder before he was finally acquitted. Recently, he squared off with investigators in the courtroom, accusing them of ruining his life. On May 24, 2016, Cal Harris stood outside a courthouse in upstate New York and told reporters what it felt like to be acquitted. of the murder of his wife, Michelle. I was just, I was shocked.

I was truly shocked. It was the fourth time Harris had stood trial for Michelle's murder in the 15 years since her disappearance. Harris wept for the three years he'd spent in prison away from his children. Best years of my life as a parent, and I'll never get those years back. A year after his acquittal, Harris filed a civil lawsuit against more than a dozen officials, including two of the investigators, and the original prosecutor, along with his children's babysitter.

He accused them of conspiring against him to mount a malicious prosecution, something they have all vehemently denied. This month, Harris was back in a courtroom as the civil case finally went to trial. Dateline producer Sue Simpson, who reported on this story for years, is here to tell us more. Hey, Sue. Hey, Andrea. Yeah, so, I mean, Sue, I remember this case so well and how hard you worked on. it. I feel like I had just started at Dateline, and I could not believe how many times this went

to trial. I know. It's amazing. It really is a story straight out of the movies. Yeah, it really is. So now, Sue, the roles are reversed. Cal Harris is the accuser and the investigators are the defendants. Did you ever expect Harris to make a move like this? You know, Andrea, I am not surprised. Kyle Harris made it clear in our dateline interview years ago that he felt law enforcement had treated him unfairly from day one. From his perspective, they put him through hell, four trials, three years behind bars, and many years of separation from his children. So let's get people who might not know the story the basics of what happened. Thirty-five-year-old Michelle Harris disappeared on the night of September 11th, 2001. What did investigators know in those early hours?

Michelle's van was found abandoned at the bottom of the driveway of the home. She and Cal shared with their four children. The keys were still in the ignition of that van, but there was no sign of Michelle. And remember, Andrea, it was 9-11. And the rest of the world was looking elsewhere. The New York State Police launched a massive search operation, teams on foot. They had dogs. But they didn't find anything, right? No, no, they didn't, Andrea. Michelle's body has never been found. So one thing we know, Sue, is that when the husband or the boyfriend or the significant other doesn't show up to searches, it always raises red flags. And this was no different. Cal Harris was not participating in the searches for his wife. He was not.

Now, Kyle will tell you, and he did tell us, that he didn't go out searching because there were plenty of other searchers. And he wanted to be with his children. He is a dedicated dad. But also, the 11-year marriage between Kyle and Michelle was on the rocks, and the two of them were in the process of getting divorced. Some of Michelle's family members and friends told investigators that Kyle was controlling. And just before she disappeared, investigators said he was particularly stressed out by the financial and custody implications of the split. And I'll just remind everyone, too, you did this story with Keith Morrison. And Tyoga County DA, Jerry Keen, told Keith something a witness allegedly overheard Harris saying to Michelle.

Let's take a listen from that episode. What he said to her was, I wouldn't need a gun to kill you. And if I did kill you, they'll never find your body. In the heat of passion, people say terrible things to each other. Doesn't mean they kill them, though. But he went beyond saying terrible things to her. He told her that he would put her body in a place where it would never be found. Sue, Cal Harris has always denied threatening Michelle or hurting her. Without a body, how did investigators even know that there had been a murder?

Investigators told us the biggest clue was something they found inside the Harris home, tiny, tiny bloodstains on the kitchen rug. There were more blood stains that looked like they had been washed or watered down on the garage floor. So they sent samples off for testing and tests confirmed that it was Michelle's blood. The investigators believe that the blood came from a recent act of violence that someone had then tried to clean up. And according to police and prosecutors, that act of violence was Cal Harris striking his wife and killing her. What has Harris said about the blood? Well, his attorneys said that investigators found less than a teaspoon worth of blood, and there was no evidence of a cleanup. They argued that Michelle could have had a minor injury and dripped blood on the floor, but this was not, they insisted, evidence.

of a murder. Even so Harris was arrested for his wife's murder in 2005. He pleaded not guilty. Then came the four trials. Just give us a quick rundown of why there were four. So Harris was convicted at his first trial, and that was in 2007, just as he was about to be sentenced. The judge threw out the verdict because of a witness who suddenly came forward at that hearing. And he was a local farmer, this witness. He said he was out hauling hay early, early. And he said he saw a machine. at the end of the driveway. She was crying, he said, and he said she was with a brown-haired man. He later identified that person as being someone Michelle knew from the restaurant where she worked. So Harris got a new trial, and he was convicted again at trial number two.

He went to prison, but that verdict was then overturned on appeal. The appellate court said the judge had made mistakes in jury selection. Then trial number three ended in a hung jury. So a mistrial was declared. Trial number four, Cal Harris opted to have a judge hear the case against him. And the judge acquitted him. Incredible. So Sue, that brings us to present day. Harris filed his federal lawsuit in 2017. By the time it got into a courtroom just last month, there were three defendants, two of the investigators and the family babysitter. So what did the attorney say the investigators had done wrong? Kyle Harris accused the New York State investigators of pressuring the prosecutor to bring charges, fabricating evidence, and grooming witnesses to get the result they wanted. He said that Steve Anderson, one of the investigators, who found the blood, had doctored photos of the bloodstains. And then Kyle accused the family babysitter of working with investigators. She changed her story, he said, at their direction to make them look guilty.

All right. So what are they all saying to this? Well, they denied there had been any conspiracy. and definitely nothing malicious, the lead investigator Sue Mulvey testified that her investigation had been exhaustive and that the prosecutor, not her, called the shots about filing charges. Steve Anderson denied doctoring any photos

and he stood by his blood analysis. And the babysitter denied working for investigators or lying for them. So the jury got to hear from Cal Harris and his youngest son, Tanner. According to reporters in the courtroom, Tanner's testimony was very emotional. He described what it was like

as a little kid to visit his dad when he was in prison, how hard those visits were. And what I remember, Andrea, he said every time they turned around to drive home, how silent it was in the car. Okay, so what did the jury decide? Well, the jury decided against Kyle Harris. The jury said his attorneys hadn't proved that there was a conspiracy or fabrication of evidence. Okay, and with Cal Harris, we know sometimes just when you think things are over, they're not. Do you think this is the final chapter in this very long saga. I find it really hard to believe it's the end, Andrea. We know that the body hasn't been found, obviously,

so that could happen and be a final chapter there. Thank you so much for bringing us this big update. Thank you, Andrew. Up next, it's time for Dateline Roundup. We've got updates on the murder of aspiring beauty queen, Katie Scott, and more family drama in the case of a former TV anchor whose ex-wife allegedly tried to take out a hit on him. Plus, growing concerns about sophisticated rental scams on social media.

NBC News Chief Consumer Investigative correspondent Vicki Wynn has tips on how to steer clear. Welcome back. Joining me for this week's roundup is Dateline field producer Alex Leray. Hey, Alex. Thanks for having me, Andrea. So, Alex, for our first story, we're going back to a case out of Philadelphia that we covered a few weeks ago, the disappearance of 23-year-old aspiring beauty queen, Cata Scott. Cata vanished on October 4th. Herbony was found in a shallow grave behind an abandoned school 14 days later. And Alex, new details about the case have since come out.

That's right, Andrea. Last time we covered this, we told listeners about a man by the name of Keon King, who had been charged with Katie's murder. But what we didn't know were the details of their relationship. Court documents now show a string of texts exchanged between the two before Kata was killed, indicating that they knew each other. We do know what Kada's cause of death was, which was a single gunshot wound to the head. That's awful, Alex. And this wasn't King's first time facing these types of charges? Right.

King had actually been charged earlier this year in another case involving strangulation and kidnapping. But those charges were ultimately dropped when the victim didn't show up to court. Now, the DA's office has reopened the case, but many in the Philly community are outraged. The King was ever even let back onto the streets. In fact, Philadelphia Council members are taking a closer look at how the system handles cases like this. So where do the King charges stand now? So prosecutors have up the charges against King, adding robbery, theft, violation of the Uniform Firearms Act, tampering with evidence. And he's still being held on a $2.5 million bill as prosecutors continue to build their case.

We should also say that we've reached out to King's attorney for comment but have not received a response. Such a heartbreaking outcome for Katie's family. Yeah, extremely. A public funeral was held for her this past Saturday. Hundreds packed of Philadelphia Church, including her family, friends, activists, and Philadelphia Mayor Cheryl Parker. What do we do to ensure that her legacy truly lives on? We're going to formally institutionalize the Kada Scott internship in the city of Philadelphia. And Andrea, if you were there, you'd notice this wasn't a typical funeral attire. Everyone was wearing pink, Kada's favorite color.

Yeah, you can really tell that Kada was very loved. And our thoughts are, of course, with her family. Alex, for our next story, we've got an update on a familiar case. to our podcast, Dan Serafini, the former Major League Baseball pitcher, convicted in July of shooting his in-laws back in June 2021. He is asking for a new trial. What is the latest with that? Right. So juror number six is at the center of Serafini's push for a new trial, and she was back in the courtroom on Monday. Serafini's defense attorney questioned the juror in front of the judge about how she used computer tools to review evidence during the case. She testified that she used the snipping tool to grab screenshots from two surveillance videos shown at trial, one showing Serafini in a hotel lobby the day before the shootings, and the other showing a masked hooded figure outside the victim's home on the day of the murders. You're saying she was comparing the two images side by side and showing them to the other jurors?

Right, exactly. The juror also said that she zoomed in on parts of the suspect's body, the face, shoulders, legs, and shoes, but didn't brighten or. alter the images. What's the defense saying about that? Yeah, so defense attorney Barry Zimmerman argues that her actions went too far, that she was basically doing her own analysis, but prosecutors say that she was just trying to make sense of what she saw with the tools that she had. Now, the judge has to decide whether that was harmless or enough to grant Serafini a whole new trial. How long before the judge makes a decision, do we know? It's a good question. Another hearing on juror misconduct is set for December 8th. Seraphini also claims that he had insufficient counsel, and that hearing is scheduled for January. For our last story, we're heading to Tennessee, where a case that's been making

headlines just took another turn. Angelia or Angie Solomon is facing first-degree attempted murder charges for allegedly trying to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband, former TV anchor Aaron Solomon. Give us a refresher on this one, Alex. Yeah, so prosecutors say the alleged hit was all about money, specifically a trust fund that would go to her daughter if Aaron died. But the couple's messy divorce revealed way more layers. Angie accused Aaron of abusing her and their children making graphic claims that he molested their daughter when she was a minor. The court found no merit to those claims. She also blamed Aaron for their son's tragic death in 2020.

Aaron has denied all of it and even sued Angie for defamation over those accusations in 2022, though that case was dismissed by the judge. So what's new? The couple's daughter has come forward doubling down on claims against her father. She's already spoken publicly about the allegations on YouTube, but now she's filed a civil suit against her dad. When is Angie expected back in court? Her next hearing is scheduled for December.

Okay. Thank you so much for bringing us roundup this week, Alex. No problem, Andrea, anytime. Anyone looking to rent an apartment in a major city knows how expensive it. it can be. And with so much competition, when a space becomes available, renters want to act fast. But NBC News's chief consumer investigative correspondent Vicki Wynn says, slow down, especially when looking for rentals on social media. According to the FBI, Americans lost nearly a million and a half dollars to social media rental scams last year. Vicki is joining us now with

some things to think about before you send off that application fee. Hey, Vicki. Hey, Andrea. Great to be with you. Yeah, so tell us about what's popping up on social media, and what are these scammers doing exactly in this arena? This is a new frontier and a really wild one, Andrea. So a lot of younger generations go not on just Craigslist or street, easy to look for apartments and rental homes these days. They're looking for them on TikTok and Instagram. And while there are legitimate accounts, scammers have found a way to rip off tons of videos from real real estate agents and realtors, make new bogus. imposter accounts and they post the same apartment for a fraction of the cost. It's too good to be

true, but if you are new to an area or you're a first-time renter, you might not know that this apartment for $1,500 actually goes for $15,000 in New York City, right? Because $1,500 still seems like a lot of money. Yeah. So what they do is they take these videos and they attract people. And once they get them on the hook, they're like, hey, this apartment's going to go really fast. I'm going to need you to send a fully refundable deposit, but you need to do this and act quickly. So there's a couple of red flags, right? The price is too good to be true, and you need to act fast. There's a sense of urgency.

And so they'll ask you for two, three, $400, which a lot of people in hot rental markets think that's reasonable. And then they find out the account has ghosted them. Once they've zelled or PayPaled or Venmoed the money over, that person cuts off all communication. Can these people just take all the brains that they're putting into this and, you know, have real jobs or start a business? Because it sounds like they're actually kind of smart. They're definitely smart. These scammers know how to find markets that are profitable for them. And when they rip off a bunch of people at the tune of $200, $300 each and disappear, I mean, there's a lot of fish in the sea, especially because we know that the rental market is on fire right now.

So this is happening coast to coast, according to FBI data, in small towns, big cities, anywhere where someone can set up a social media account, repost someone else's videos. And in some cases, Andrea, they're even posing as the realtor themselves. We spoke to a realtor who's getting hate messages and threatening messages accusing him of scamming people when it's just his own identity that's been stolen. and other people are posing as him and creating accounts as this realtor. And, you know, people are so desperate when they need a place to live. And when it's so competitive to get these places, you know, you're, you feel like you're under the gun and you've got to do something very quickly. Totally. So you want to make sure that when you are looking for an apartment or a rental home, you slow down just a little bit.

You've done your research so you know what the going market rate is. and if you're looking at an ad and the rent is just so much lower than the market rate, steer clear. And then if you are going to contact someone, look them up separately. Don't just call the number or the email that is in the listing itself. Look up that person, find their actual real estate website, and contact them that way. Because that way you'll know you're talking to the real representative for that property. and try your best not to send money, sight unseen. By the way, you should know in a city like New York,

the maximum that anyone can charge you for a rental application is actually $20. No way. So figure out what that is in your area. They shouldn't be able to charge you $300, $400. And if they are, that's also a red flag. And what can renters do if they are scammed? So first things first, report it to your bank,

see if you can get the money back. The next thing I would do after you try to get your money back, is report the scam to your local police and then also report the listing to the social media site so that hopefully they can take it down. We did talk with TikTok and Instagram and they say that they're proactively removing literally tens of thousands of these accounts. However, the scammers are constantly evolving and it's a little bit like a game of whackamol. All right, Vicki. Thank you so much. Hopefully we had some renters listening to the podcast today. That's it for this episode of Dateline True Crime Weekly.

To get ad-free listening for all our podcasts, subscribe to Dateline premium. Coming up this Friday, I have an all-new episode about a case in my hometown. When a burning car was discovered at the bottom of a ditch, investigators unraveled a calculated cover-up to find their suspect. I said, I just want you to know that you will spend the rest of your life pain for this. Be sure to tune in this Friday at 9-8 Central. Thanks for listening. Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Carson Cummins, Caroline Casey, and Keani Reed. Our senior producer is Liz Brown-Korloff, production and fact-checking help by Audrey Abrams, Veronica Maseka is our digital producer.

Requan is our sound designer, original music by Jesse McGinty, Paul Ryan is executive producer, and Liz Cole is senior executive producer of Dateline. See you soon. Bye. Thank you.