Model murdered ‘sugar daddy’ who was going to stop paying her rent
Thomas Burchard gave Kelsey Turner $300,000 over two years in a “transactional” relationship
Kelsey Turner was a blonde model aged 25 who called herself Bad Barbie and posed in revealing lingerie for men’s magazines.Thomas Burchard was a grey-bearded child psychiatrist aged 69 who liked to put his young patients at ease with magic tricks. But despite being so wildly different, the pair started a relationship that would later be described as “transactional” – with Turner happy to let Thomas pay all of her bills.
They met in Salinas, California, in 2017, while Turner was living with her mum. She had a young child and was struggling for money. Well-off Thomas had a history of going out of his way to help people, despite the fact that his philanthropy had not always been very popular with those close to him.
After the breakdown of his marriage in 2001, it transpired that he was sending cash to multiple women, paying their rent and bills. While some said he was just a sucker for a sob story, his ex-wife said during their divorce that the relationships were “very inappropriate”, with the women corresponding with him using “suggestive” names.
Regardless, there was no doubt Thomas had a big heart. He was well-known and respected in his field, and after 40 years, instead of retiring completely he went down to a four-day week so that he could continue to support his vulnerable patients.
Turner, meanwhile, appeared in men’s magazines such as Maxim and referred to herself on social media as a Playboy model – although it’s believed she only featured online with Playboy Italia. She had a tattoo on her thigh of a gun tucked into a garter belt – and specialised in lingerie and swimsuit shoots, posing in revealing outfits on social media.
Despite having a long-term girlfriend, Thomas started to support Turner in a way that made many believe he was her “sugar daddy”. While she denied their relationship was sexual and Thomas did not confirm this, what is known is that he was paying an estimated $3,500 a month in rent for her.
VEGAS CONFRONTATION
When Turner moved to Las Vegas with her child, Thomas continued to pay her rent, help out with the bills and even aided her in buying a car. She was living with boyfriend Jon Logan Kennison and housemate Diana Nicola Pena, a bartender on the Vegas strip, who were also benefitting from the arrangement. In spring 2019, Thomas told his girlfriend of 17 years, Judy Earp, he was going to Vegas to check on things because Turner was a “compulsive liar”. After two years of forking out cash, he was ready to cut her off. Thomas took a flight on 1 March, but did not return on 4 March as planned. Judy reported him missing and told the police he was “overly compassionate” and had been giving money to half a dozen women during their relationship. She told them she believed Turner would know what had happened to him.
Then, on 7 March, a member of the public spotted a MercedesBenz abandoned on State Route 147 near Lake Mead, outside Las Vegas. It had a smashed window where someone had thrown a rock through it. The passerby reported the vehicle to the police.
When officers arrived, they could smell something foul. They looked inside the boot and found the decomposing body of a man that had been buried under blankets and towels. It was Thomas.
The 71-year-old had been bludgeoned around the head with a blunt instrument – likely a baseball bat. Despite clear attempts to clean up, his blood was found inside the car.
The police traced the vehicle to Turner. But the officers who went to her home found that she
was gone, along with her boyfriend and roommate.
There was a broken door, blood and cleaning products in the property, plus towels that matched those found with Thomas.
Investigators determined that Thomas had arrived in Las Vegas and had likely told Turner that their arrangement was going to end. They believed he had been attacked in the house he had paid the rent on and then left to rot in the desert sun in a car he had helped pay for.
A hunt for the trio began. Turner was found first, in California, then Kennison and Pena were arrested. Kennison pointed the finger at Pena, while Pena said Kennison had beaten Thomas with a bat and she had only helped to clean up the crime scene. Turner remained
He was left to rot in the boot of the car he had helped her buy
tight-lipped and said she was innocent. While Thomas’s behaviour appeared to have a “sugar daddy” element to it, Turner said it was not a sexual arrangement and he just had a crush on her.
But the police believed Turner had been angry about losing the free money she’d enjoyed for two years. Pena said she had tried to discredit Thomas by alleging he had child porn on his phone – which was a complete lie. The trio were all charged with his murder.
‘A MASTER MANIPULATOR’
In 2019, Pena, now 34, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder and helped the prosecution build a case against Turner in return for a reduced sentence. She admitted she had helped clean the crime scene but denied being involved in harming Thomas.
Pena said she saw Kennison raise the bat but didn’t see it hit Thomas. She also revealed that Turner had encouraged the violence.
In July last year, Kennison, 29, got 18 to 45 years after admitting second-degree murder. His lawyer said he referred to Turner as “a master manipulator” and claimed he “stood no chance” of resisting her charm. But the evidence showed it was Kennison who beat Thomas to death.
In November, Turner made a plea that let her avoid trial. It meant while not admitting guilt, she recognised there was enough evidence to convict her of seconddegree murder in court.
In January this year Turner, now 29, faced sentencing. The prosecution said Thomas gave her an estimated $300,000 during their relationship. Judy testified that Turner forged his signature and continued to take cash after he was dead, saying, “I never realised such evil existed in this world until this happened.”
The prosecution said Turner and Kennison had beaten Thomas to death because he had told them that there was no more money coming. Turner was sentenced to 25 years in prison with the chance of parole after 10.
Whatever the true nature of their relationship, Thomas had been kind to a fault and was so good-natured he had no idea how Turner would react to him calling time on their arrangement.