Man sentenced for involvement after 2009 slaying of Kathryn Keener

One of the men accused of helping the killer get rid of evidence after the murder of a 49-year-old woman pleaded guilty to an accessory charge today.

Ronald McKinley was sentenced to five years of probation after a judge accepted a negotiated sentence for his involvement after the 2009 slaying of Kathryn Keener. He could face 15 years in prison if he violates the probation.

He will serve at least the next two years in jail for violating his supervised release after an unrelated federal weapons conviction in 2007. He will be sentenced for that next week in federal court.

Keener’s sister, Paula, told the court she was not happy about the plea and told The Post and Courier she wanted the case to go to trial.

Kathryn Keener disappeared in August 2009. Her body was found in a pond near where her burned-out sport utility vehicle had been left in West Ashley. She had been shot once in the temple.

Jessie James Murphy Jr. pleaded guilty in December 2011 to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Ninth Circuit assistant solicitor Jennifer Shealy said in court today that no one wanted to cooperate in the case and due to the condition of Kathryn Keener’s body, there was limited forensic evidence.

Read more in later editions of The Post and Courier.