A Louisville woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in connection with the brutal 2021 killings of two men, one of whom was decapitated.
Sara McQuilling, 44, entered her plea Friday in Jefferson Circuit Court to charges including complicity to murder, second-degree complicity to manslaughter, two counts of abuse of a corpse, two counts of tampering with physical evidence, and theft.
The victims were identified as Douglas Brooks, who was beheaded, and Jerry Cardin, who was fatally shot. Both victims’ bodies were concealed in crawl spaces in their respective homes. Brooks’ head has never been recovered, report by Louisville-based Fox affiliate WDRB.
According to court records, the plea deal was reached after felony mediation between prosecutors and the defense. McQuilling entered an Alford plea not admitting guilt but acknowledging there was sufficient evidence for a conviction. Her attorney, Sheila Seader, emphasized that McQuilling maintains her innocence.
The plea agreement states that between September 17 and 24, 2021, McQuilling stabbed Brooks “acting alone or in complicity with another person.” The document continues: “The defendant, either alone or with the help of another person, then decapitated Mr. Brooks and placed his body in a crawl space in the cellar of his house”, by local CBS affiliate WLKY.
Brooks’ remains were discovered on September 27, 2021, in the 2000 block of Woodbourne Avenue in the Highlands Douglass neighborhood. Police have not identified a motive, and no additional suspects have been charged. Erran Huber, spokesman for the Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, said there are “no additional charges anticipated in this case and no formally identified defendants.”
He did not comment on why the sentence was limited to 20 years despite the deaths of two men. On September 20, 2021, McQuilling shot Cardin, hid his body in the crawl space of his home, and stole his truck, according to the plea agreement. His body was found three days later after police conducted a welfare check at his Roosevelt Avenue residence near Hikes Lane and the Buechel Bypass.
McQuilling was arrested on September 27, 2021, while driving Cardin’s stolen truck. Inside the vehicle, police discovered evidence linked to Brooks’ murder, including surveillance footage showing McQuilling removing items from Brooks’ home and placing them in the truck, according to The Courier-Journal.
Both killings shocked the Louisville community due to their violent nature and the disturbing concealment of the victims’ remains. Despite the resolution in court, questions remain about the full circumstances surrounding the murders and whether others may have been involved.