KINGMAN (AP) – Attorneys for a former Kansas lawman accused of killing his wife and setting their home on fire are challenging the way authorities collected evidence.
Brett Seacat is charged with first-degree murder in the April 2011 shooting death of 34-year-old Vashiti Seacat.
The former police instructor also is charged with aggravated arson and two counts of child endangerment for allegedly setting fire to the couple’s Kingman home. He and his two young sons escaped the fire.
Forensic consultant Gene Gietzen testified Thursday about traces of gasoline that the prosecution contends were found on the pants Seacat was wearing the day of the fire. He says the pants were put in a paper sack, which allows accelerants to escape and can cause cross contamination.
Seacat contends his wife committed suicide.
He was a law enforcement instructor at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center near Yoder at the time of the murder.