KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) A former Kansas police instructor and sheriff’s deputy is due to be sentenced for the April 2011 shooting death of his wife.
Brett Seacat was convicted in June of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and child endangerment. The body of Vashti Seacat, 34, was found in the charred remains of their Kingman home.
The sentencing is scheduled for Monday.
Prosecutors are no longer asking the judge for a sentence of 50 years without parole. That request was withdrawn after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that juries, rather than judges, may consider facts that could result in longer minimum sentences.
Vashti Seacat died 16 days after she filed for divorce. Authorities accused Brett Seacat of killing her and setting fire to their house. He and their two sons escaped the fire.
