Murder of Umi Southworth
2010–2024
Lexington, Fayette County · Kentucky · United States · 2010
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Umi Southworth, 44, an Indonesian-born accountant living in Lexington, Kentucky, was found severely beaten under a box spring behind her Meadowthorpe Avenue home on 9 June 2010 after coworkers reported her missing on her last day at Fazoli’s. Officers initially treated her as dead; the coroner later found her alive, and she died the next day at University of Kentucky Hospital. Her husband, Donald Southworth, was charged with murder in 2011 and sentenced to life after a February 2012 trial; the Kentucky Supreme Court reversed that conviction in 2014. In 2016 he entered an Alford plea to manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years. He was released in February 2024.
At a glance
Donald Southworth
Donald Southworth charged with murder
Timeline· 9 entries
- 9 Jun 2010 · Wednesday
Discovery, investigation event
Umi Southworth found beaten behind her home; initially believed dead
- 10 Jun 2010 · Thursday
Death reported, investigation event
Umi Southworth dies at University of Kentucky Hospital
- 1 Jun 2011 · Wednesday
- 3 Jun 2011 · Friday
- 20 Mar 2014 · Thursday
- 19 Jun 2014 · Thursday
Court ruling, court event
- February 2016
- 11 Mar 2016 · Friday
Sentencing, court event
- 19 Feb 2024 · Monday
Coverage· 6 entries
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7 Oct 2026
Podcast episodeThe Consult7 Oct 2026How much weight do you give the physical evidence? How much weight do you give the behavior? And most importantly, how do you test which explanation is correct rather than simply choosing the evidence that supports your theory? It's one of those things that's really difficult for me.More
— The Consult 20 Feb 2024
The Murder Police Podcast · 5 episodes
9 Feb 2021
2 Feb 2021
26 Jan 2021
19 Jan 2021
12 Jan 2021
14 Mar 2016
20 Mar 2014
Website / resourceKentucky Supreme Court20 Mar 201420 Mar 2014
Third-party material, quoted verbatim.
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