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Karen Kahler and Kraig Kahler, Death in the Family

Emily Kahler
In season 1, episode 5, Death in the Family is the love story of Karen
Kahler and Kraig Kahler. This does not end well for Karen Kahler, his daughters, Emily and Lauren Kahler and Mother in Law, Dorothy Wight as they end up dead at the hands of Kraig Kahler, in the state of Kansas.

The show is described as: Kraig and Karen Kahler live a comfortable life until sexual obsession spins everything out of control. His wife had a relationship with another woman and had filed for divorce. Instead of dealing with the process, he opted to kill his entire family.

Dorothy Wight
In November 2009, Kahler went to his wife’s grandmother’s house, where his family was visiting, and shot and killed his wife, his two daughters, and the grandmother. Kahler was arrested, charged, and
sentenced to death for the four killings. Experts for the defense and the prosecution agreed that Kahler exhibited major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive, borderline, paranoid, and narcissistic personality tendencies. The defense expert testified that, in his opinion, due to Kahler’s mental illness, he did not make the rational choice to kill his family members and indeed had at the time of the shooting temporarily “completely lost control.”

Under Kansas law, a jury cannot consider mental disease or defect as a defense to a crime except insofar as it shows “that the defendant lacked the mental state required as an element of the offense charged.” In effect, this law makes irrelevant “whether the defendant is unable to know the nature and quality of his actions or know the difference between right and wrong with respect to his actions.”

Kraig Kahler is sentenced to Sentenced to death. Kraig Kahler is not eligible for release.

His appeal (see link) includes:

A recitation of some family history preceding the murders is necessary to put Kahler's crimes in context. In 2008, the Kahler family—husband, Kahler; wife, Karen; teenage daughters, Emily and Lauren; and 9-year-old son, Sean—was living in Weatherford, Texas. Kahler was the director of the public utilities department, and Karen was a personal trainer. Both adults had successful careers. Acquaintances described the Kahlers as a perfect family. Kahler was extremely proud of his family; it was his top priority.

That summer, Kahler took a new job as the director of water and light for the city of Columbia, Missouri. He moved to Columbia, while Karen and the children stayed in Texas, planning to follow him in the fall. Before Kahler left for Columbia, Karen told him she was interested in experimenting by engaging in a sexual relationship with a female trainer with whom she worked. Kahler assented to the sexual relationship.



Lauren Kahler

You can write to Kraig Kahler at:

Kraig Kahler #0101355
El Dorado CF-Central 
P.O. Box 311
El Dorado, KS 67042

Links

Dissecting the insanity defense through the Kahler case

 

 

 

Can't get enough true crime? Consider US Serial Killers for your viewing needs.

 

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