Donald Deskins: Kentucky lawyer accused of killing wife began new relationship just months after her death
PIKE COUNTY, KENTUCKY: Donald Kyle Deskins, a lawyer and prosecutor from Kentucky, has been indicted for the alleged murder of his wife and attempt to cover up the crime.
The indictment comes two years after Judith Dawn Deskins died at their home. She died of blunt-force trauma on April 24, 2021, the same day her husband allegedly tampered with the evidence, reported Law and Crime.
Who was Judith Dawn Deskins?
Judith Dawn Deskins, the 46-year-old woman who lived in Pike County, was killed by her 54-year-old husband who is a former assistant Pike County attorney.
The man who was working as the City Attorney in Elkhorn allegedly killed Judith "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."
As per the indictment on August 30, he reportedly tried covering up the crime at the scene and also tampered with evidence on his laptop.
According to court records, the defendant tampered with evidence on the laptop on July 28, 2021, the same day he updated his Facebook status saying he was in a relationship with another woman.
Many people congratulated him on the post as they expressed they were happy that the father of two whose wife died three months ago has apparently found happiness.
However, the Kentucky lawyer's Facebook handle now lists him as single.
Donald Deskins faced professional discipline
According to a Kentucky Supreme Court opinion and order statement from 2014, Deskins' multiple errors and omissions in a divorce case of a woman he represented led to him facing professional discipline.
As per the opinion, he tried to mitigate the misconduct by claiming he had to deal with mental health issues and his "family problems."
Six months after Judith's death, Deskins took to Facebook to share a post on anxiety and depression.
"If you know….. you know. If you don’t …. be thankful," he captioned the post.
What are the charges against Donald Deskins?
Special prosecutor Floyd 'Tony' Skeans reportedly talked about the complications in the case as he reportedly said, "Finding the person with the skills and expertise to be able to interpret the physical evidence took forever."
"I got involved in late 2021 and it took me nearly all of 2022 to find somebody that could look at it," he added.
Deskins is charged with committing the murder of his wife in the course of domestic violence and tampering with physical evidence, according to Pike County Detention Center records.
The lawyer-turned-defendant was booked into prison on August 31 and is held without bond.