Louisville Police Department
Sara McQuilling entered an Alford plea, a type of guilty plea in which one maintains their innocence, while acknowledging there is enough evidence to convince a jury to convict.
A Kentucky woman has entered a guilty plea in the murders of two men -- one of whom's head is still missing.
On Friday, 44-year-old Louisville woman Sara McQuilling pleaded guilty to complicity to second-degree manslaughter, complicity in murder, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse and theft. She entered an Alford plea, a type of guilty plea in which one maintains their innocence, while acknowledging there is likely enough evidence to convince a jury to convict.
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View StoryShe was given 20 years in prison, with Jefferson County court administrator McKay Chauvin telling WAVE, "My understanding from the mediator is that the victims' families were present, and everyone was satisfied with the disposition."
McQuilling's plea was in connection with the September 2021 deaths of both Douglas Brooks, 39, and Jerry Cardin, 64.
Per the plea agreement, McQuilling stabbed Brooks, acting alone or in complicity with another person," between September 17 and 24, before she, "either alone or with the help of another person, then decapitated Mr. Brooks and placed his body in a crawl space in the cellar of his house."
His head was never recovered. Cardin, meanwhile, was fatally shot, his body also hidden in a crawl space.
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View StoryCardin's body was discovered in his home's crawl space by Louisville Police Department officers on September 23, after a request for a welfare check. Authorities believe he was dead for three days before his body was found.
McQuilling was later found driving Cardin's stolen truck, per WDRB. In the truck bed, authorities reportedly found evidence from Brooks' murder, including surveillance footage showing her removing items from his home and putting them in the vehicle. She also allegedly admitted to police she shot Cardin and put his body in the crawl space, with the revolver used in the shooting found in a black purse also containing her heath insurance cards.
Brooks' body was discovered days later, on September 27, at his home -- also in a crawl space.
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View StoryNobody else has been charged in the case, with Erran Huber, a spokesman for the Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney's office, telling WDRB that "at this time, there are no additional charges anticipated in this case and no formally identified defendants."
No motive has been revealed.
According to reports, McQuilling will be eligible for parole after completing 85% of her sentence.
