Model murdered 'sugar daddy' who was going to stop paying her rent

Thomas Burchard gave Kelsey Turner 300,000 over two years in transactional” relationship

- GAIL SHORTLAND

Kelsey Turner was a blonde model aged 25 who called herself Bad Barbie and posed in revealing lingerie for men’s magazines. Thomas Burchard was a grey-bearded child psychiatrist aged 69 who liked to put his young patients at ease with magic tricks. But despite being so wildly different, the pair started a relationship that would later be described as “transactional” – with Turner happy to let Thomas pay all of her bills.

They met in Salinas, California, in 2017, while Turner was living with her mum. She had a young child and was struggling for money. Well-off Thomas had a history of going out of his way to help people, despite the fact that his philanthropy had not always been very popular with those close to him.

After the breakdown of his marriage in 2001, it transpired that he was sending cash to multiple women, paying their rent and bills. While some said he was just a sucker for a sob story, his ex-wife said during their divorce that the relationships were “very inappropriate”, with the women corresponding with him using “suggestive” names.

Regardless, there was no doubt Thomas had a big heart. He was well-known and respected in his field, and after 40 years, instead of retiring completely he went down to a four-day week so he could continue to support his vulnerable patients.

Turner, meanwhile, appeared in men’s magazines such as Maxim and referred to herself on social media as a Playboy model – although it’s believed she only featured online with Playboy Italia. She had a tattoo on her thigh of a gun tucked into a garter belt – and specialised in lingerie and swimsuit shoots, posing in revealing outfits on social media.