[KS] Vashti Forrest did not kill herself. Her lawman husband is convicted of 1st degree murder.

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• [KS] KLETC Police Instructor Brett Seacat arrested for murder of wife, Vashti Forrest
• [KS] Judge rules that Vashti Forrest's lawman ex, Brett Seacat, will stand trial for her murder

Brett Seacat prosecutors seeking 'Hard 50' sentence for murder
By Amy Renee Leiker
The Wichita Eagle
Published Tuesday, June 11, 2013,
[Excerpts] Jurors on Tuesday convicted Brett Seacat of murdering his wife, more than two years after she was fatally shot and their Kingman home set ablaze. The verdict came about 3 p.m. after roughly six hours of deliberation Tuesday. Seacat, 37, was also convicted of aggravated arson and two counts of child endangerment, all linked to the April 30, 2011, death of 34-year-old Vashti Seacat and a fire that destroyed the couple’s house while their young sons, then 2 and 4, were inside. Prosecutors are asking for the “Hard 50” sentence, which is life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years. Sentencing for Seacat is set for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 5. He remains in Kingman County Jail without bond. Julie Hostetler, Vashti Seacat’s mother, referred to the ruling as “bittersweet relief... This was like a two-edged sword... We’ve known Brett since he was 16. We accepted him and loved him as part of the family. So although justice was served – and he’s where he needed to be – it’s still bittersweet”... Throughout the trial, prosecutors contended Seacat – a former sheriff’s deputy skilled in crime-scene investigations and interrogation tactics – plotted to shoot and kill his wife to stop her from divorcing him and then torched their home to destroy the evidence. Seacat claims Vashti Seacat, indecisive about their pending divorce, suffered bouts of depression and committed suicide after he threatened to wreck her career and take away her boys. He maintains she set the house on fire before she killed herself... [Full article here]

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