Mother of missing 4-year-old Kentucky girl and her boyfriend appear in court

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The mother of a missing 4-year-old Kentucky girl who was found dead last week faced a judge on Tuesday.

Police found Serenity McKinney's body in a wooded area of West Point, near the Jefferson County, Bullitt County line, on Friday, Feb. 18, weeks after her grandparents reported her missing.

The child's mother, Catherine McKinney, and her mom's boyfriend, Dakota Hill, are both behind bars in the Shelby County Detention Center. Tuesday, they appeared in court through a video screen. Both face charges of murder, abuse of a corpse and custodial interference. Tuesday's court appearance only focused on the custodial interference charges, which face the potential for one to five years in prison.

Serenity's grandfather reported her missing in early February, after not seeing the child since Christmas Eve of 2020. Soon after the missing person's report was filed, investigators said Serenity's mother, Catherine McKinney, was located in Jefferson County, but was not answering any questions or cooperating with the investigation.

McKinney and Hill were later found in Kansas and arrested on a charge of custodial interference. Both, now back in Kentucky, appeared individually in court Tuesday afternoon in Shelby County. They only spoke when asked if they had an attorney. Hill asked for a court-appointed attorney, while McKinney said she already had an attorney.

A judge entered a not guilty plea on behalf of both McKinney and Hill. They'll be back in court on March 3 for a preliminary hearing.

A cause of death for 4-year-old Serenity has not been released yet. The Bullitt County Coroner's Office said it is waiting to hear back from the medical examiner, and that could take several more days.

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