A Kentucky lawyer and prosecutor has been indicted for allegedly murdering his wife and tampering with evidence after the fact more than two years after she died of blunt force trauma at home.
According to the Aug. 30 indictment, 54-year-old Donald Kyle Deskins, a former assistant Pike County attorney and current City Attorney in Elkhorn City, killed 46-year-old Judith Dawn Deskins in April of 2021 “with the intent to cause her death or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life wantonly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death,” and, in both the immediate aftermath and ensuing months of the murder, tampered with evidence at the scene and with evidence on his laptop.
Donald Changed His Relationship Status 3 Months After Wife’s Death
Judith died on April 24, 2021, which is one of the dates the defendant is alleged in the indictment to have tampered with evidence. The second alleged evidence tampering offense goes back to July 28, 2021, when the defendant is accused of tampering with evidence on a laptop before handing it over to cops.
July 28, 2021, was also one day after Donald Kyle Deskins updated his status on Facebook to say he was in a relationship with another woman, just three months after his wife’s sudden death. His Facebook page currently lists him as single, however.
Donald Previously Disciplined for Professional Misconduct
The Kentucky lawyer previously faced professional discipline for multiple errors and omissions in his representation a woman heading for divorce, a 2014 Kentucky Supreme Court opinion and order shows: Notably, the opinion said Deskins attempted to mitigate his misconduct by citing mental health issues and “family problems.”
Though he was indicted in Pike County, Deskins will not be prosecuted by the Pike County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, given the obvious conflict raised by his former employment there as an assistant prosecutor. As a result, Johnson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Floyd “Tony” Skeans has been named the special prosecutor, the News-Express reported.
Pike County Detention Center records obtained by Law & Crime show that the prosecutor-turned-defendant is charged with committing murder in the course of domestic violence and tampering with physical evidence. Deskins remains jailed without bond. The Kimper resident, listed at 6’3″ and 330 pounds, was booked at 1:19 p.m. on Aug. 31.
