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A city attorney in Kentucky is facing murder charges in the killing of his wife, according to an indictment reviewed by PEOPLE.
Donald Deskins, an assistant attorney for Elkhorn City of Pike County, Ky. has been charged with one count of murder and two counts of evidence tampering in the April 2021 killing of his wife Judith Dawn Deskins, the indictment states.
The 46-year-old mother suffered “blunt force trauma” that resulted in her death, the indictment states, alleging that Donald Deskins “wantonly engaged” in the “grave” killing on April 24, 2021 in their home in Kimper, Ky.
The indictment further states that Deskins “destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered physical evidence” in relation to the alleged murder of his wife on the day of the killing, as well as three months later when he tampered with information on his laptop which he had “offered” as evidence to investigators.
According to jail records, the 54-year-old was booked on Thursday, and there isn’t a bond amount listed. It’s not clear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney.
Judith's obituary stated that she worked as a counselor at a local rehabilitation center that works with people suffering from drug addiction or homelessness. In 2007, the couple lost their two infant children, the obituary states, adding that the couple shared two other children at the time of her death.
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According to online court documents, in 2014, the attorney was suspended from practicing for a month and put on a year-long probation after he led a client through a months-long chase regarding a court proceeding in her divorce case that she later discovered he never scheduled, despite claiming he had done so and receiving payments from her for it.
According to his Facebook profile, he entered a relationship with another woman a little over three months after his wife’s death.
If convicted, Donald could face up to 50 years in prison or a life sentence for the alleged murder, and up to five years for evidence tampering.
PEOPLE has reached out to the City of Elkhorn for further comments.
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