An ex-sheriff's deputy killed his wife, fakes her suicide note, and in an effort to hide evidence, set his house on fire.
In 2011, for a Kansas couple, their marriage will go up in smokes in the spring of that year. Brett Seacat and Vashti Seacat's relationship litterally ended in flames and death.
According to Oxygen, a 911 call alerted the authorities to a house on fire and an alert for suicide on April 30, 2011. According to Brett, his wife allegedly committed suicide and burned their house down.
The holes in Brett Seacat's story
He told authorities that he was lying on the couch, at the conjugal Kingman, Kansas residence when everything unraveled. He said that Vashti was on the second floor when she called his mobile. She told him to get the children and leave because she did not want them harmed.
A shot rang upstairs, and he ran to see Vashti. He got their two kids and put them in his wife's car. He quickly run back inside and called 911. He allegedly tried to save his wife, but the flames and smoke were too much for him.
A gunshot was heard at 3:15 am, Brett called at 3:57 am to report the fire. When authorities arrived to the scene, they were perturbed by how the former deputy sheriff approached them.
For a man who just lost his wife to a terrible accident, Brett was certainly acting suspicious. He was not even visibly distraught with Vashti's death. When the flames were extinguished, firefighters discovered Vashti's lifeless body in the master bedroom.
Both met in high school and got married years later at Belize Beach. After their wedding, they resided in their house at Kingsman. They started off well, but things weren't the same after their children were born, according to Vashti's relatives.
Brett was a former sheriff's deputy and a teacher at a Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. He was not happy with his wife's career development. Vashti's growing profession and social circle upset her husband.
On the night the house was aflamed and Vashti died, both agreed to live in the house despite the problems. According to Brett, when they were planning on the finances, he claimed that she got aggravated, started the fire, and then shot herself. That was according to the husband's narrative, but the authorities did not buy it.
None of her family believe that she would commit suicide, and her husband's claims were suspicious. Her brother, Rich Forrest, told the Show 'Accident, Suicide or Murder' that his sister would not commit suicide.
Possible motive for the crime
According to David Falletti, a senior special agent with the KBI, possible talks of divorce is a serious red flag. The house fire was further investigated.
Everything was checked, including the body of Vashti on the burnt metal bed frame. The gun was found with the barrel face down. It did not seem right, and it definitely alerted authorities that something was wrong.
The angle of the killing shot was too odd for the investigators too. During the autopsy, indicators show that she was dead before the fire. Accprding to University of Chicago Press, her charred body made it hard to determine the cause of death. An analysis also claimed that the suicide note was forged.
He was arrested on May 14, 2011, for second-degree murder and arson. In 2016, the ex-sheriff's deputy was sentenced for murder, the family was happy with the conviction, according to Wichita Eagle.
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