LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The woman who pleaded guilty in connection to her young daughter's death was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Wednesday.
Catherine 'Abby' McKinney pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this month for the death of her daughter, Serenity McKinney.
This was more than a year after the 4-year-old's body was found in West Point, Kentucky. Kentucky State Police (KSP) found Serenity's body in February of 2022. An autopsy showed she was found in a suitcase filled with a sand-like substance and she had fractured bones.
Originally, McKinney and her boyfriend, Dakota Hill, were both charged with murder. As part of a plea agreement, McKinney will now testify when Hill goes on trial later this summer.
McKinney's attorneys claim Hill was abusing her and her daughter, but acknowledged she still holds some of the blame for Serenity's death.
"Although Abby allowed Dakota to abuse her child which resulted in her death, Abby herself did not kill her daughter and I think that is an important distinction to make," McKinney's lawyer said. "To say that Abby is regretful, remorseful, and repentant would be an understatement."
Melody Roller and her son, David, Serenity's father, got to speak directly to McKinney in court Wednesday.
"Abby, what you allowed to happen has destroyed us," Melody Roller said. "She was our everything - our light and darkness, our warmth in the cold."
"Somebody would have taken care of her. Somebody would have came and got you out of the situation," David Roller said. "Somebody would have done something. You know that I would have moved heaven and Earth just make sure y'all were safe."
Presiding Judge Rodney Burress said Catherine's statement about the murder was horrific and said 12 years was "insufficient" for what happened to Serenity.
"There are horror movies that have less impact on a person than what happened in that statement," Burress said.
The Bullitt County Commonwealth's Attorney said it took several months and communication with the family and KSP detectives before the plea agreement was reached.
McKinney will have to serve at least 85 percent of her sentence.
Hill's trial is set for June 13.
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