Kentucky Mother of Six Sentenced to 20 Years for Double Homicide, One Victim Decapitated, Head Still Missing

A woman from Louisville has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to her involvement in two gruesome murders, including a case involving a decapitated man whose head remains missing. Despite the plea deal, the motive behind the macabre acts remains unclear.

By Savage RoyalT | August 6, 2025 | SavageRoyalT.com

LOUISVILLE, KY — A Kentucky woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in a brutal double homicide that shocked the city of Louisville in 2021, a case made even more disturbing by the fact that one victim was decapitated and his head has never been recovered.

Sara McQuilling, 44, pleaded guilty last week under the Alford standard, which allows a defendant to maintain innocence while acknowledging that the evidence would likely lead to a conviction. Her charges include complicity to murder, complicity to second-degree manslaughter, two counts of abuse of a corpse, two counts of tampering with physical evidence, and theft.

The victims, Douglas Brooks, 39, and Jerry Cardin, 64, were discovered dead within days of each other in September 2021. Both men were found hidden in crawl spaces beneath their homes, but the case of Douglas Brooks stood out in its sheer brutality. He had been stabbed to death and decapitated, and to this day, his head has never been found.

A Chronology of a Chilling Crime Spree

The timeline of events surrounding the murders paints a grim picture of calculated and concealed violence:

Around September 20, 2021, police believe McQuilling shot and killed Jerry Cardin inside his home on Roosevelt Avenue in Louisville’s West Buechel neighborhood. On September 23, officers conducting a welfare check found Cardin’s decomposing body hidden in the crawl space beneath his home.

Just four days later, on September 27, McQuilling was found driving Cardin’s stolen truck. Inside the vehicle, officers recovered stolen items from Cardin’s home, a revolver, and a black purse containing McQuilling’s healthcare ID. Surveillance footage also allegedly showed McQuilling removing items from Cardin’s house and placing them in the vehicle. During her arrest, McQuilling allegedly admitted to shooting Cardin and hiding his body using the revolver found in her possession.

Later that same day, police made a second horrifying discovery: the headless body of Douglas Brooks was found in the crawl space of his home on Woodbourne Avenue in the Highlands Douglass neighborhood. He had been stabbed multiple times, and his head was missing.

According to her plea agreement, McQuilling stabbed Brooks between September 17 and 24, “acting alone or in complicity with another person.” Prosecutors allege she then decapitated him and hid his body in the cellar.

Despite the state's use of the term "complicity," no other suspects have been arrested, and prosecutors confirmed that no additional charges are expected.

The Courtroom Deal

Rather than go to trial, McQuilling accepted a 20-year prison sentence through the mediated plea deal. Jefferson County Court Administrator McKay Chauvin confirmed that the victims’ families were present during the hearing and approved the resolution. McQuilling waived her right to a separate sentencing hearing.

She will be eligible for parole after serving 85% of her sentence.

A Troubling Pattern

This was not McQuilling’s first encounter with law enforcement. In December 2016, she was accused of stealing a police cruiser. And in June 2021, just months before the murders, she was reported missing for one week before being found safe.

Following her arrest in the double homicide, her husband expressed support, though he declined to speak in detail. Her longtime landlord, however, expressed disbelief in an interview with local media:

"It shows you never truly know about an individual, no matter how much you like them, no matter what they seem like. You've got to be careful, man, anymore."

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