Martin pleads guilty to manslaughter in Clark woman’s death
More than five years after a Winchester woman was found dead in Montgomery County. the suspect has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
The Mount Sterling Advocate reported that 45-year-old Lonnie Martin pleaded guilty last week in Rowan County to first-degree manslaughter and agreed to a 10-year prison sentence. The agreement was the result of a mediation session before a retired judge, according to the newspaper.
Martin was originally charged with murder.
Court records show Martin will be sentenced Feb. 22.
Martin was charged with killing Kyla Kline of Winchester in July 2013 after she was last seen at the Dairy Queen on Main Street.
Police tracked her cell phone signal to a farm near the Clark-Montgomery county line. Cadaver dogs found her remains on July 28, 2013, 25 days after she was last seen.
Detectives said Kline was stabbed and beaten before being buried in a shallow grave on the farm.
Martin told police he dropped Kline back off at the Dairy Queen and did not know what happened next.
As part of the plea agreement, a tampering with physical evidence charge was dismissed.
Martin is still facing another murder case in Clark County for the death of his cousin Joseph Martin in 1995. Thursday in Clark Circuit Court, Martin’s attorney Valetta Browne said she is in negotiations with prosecutors about resolving the case. Martin is scheduled to be back in court March 21.