BURLINGAME, Kan. - A former Columbia, Mo., city official, who lost his job after he was charged with assaulting his wife, is now accused of killing her and two of their children.
James Kraig Kahler, 46, is being held on suspicion of three counts of capital murder. The victims, found Saturday in a home near Burlingame, were identified as Kahler's estranged wife, 44-year-old Karen Kahler, and their daughters, 18-year-old Emily Kahler and 16-year-old Lauren Kahler. All had been shot. He is also being held on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Karen Kahler's grandmother, Dorothy Wight.
Monday morning Attorney General Steve Six charged Kahler on three counts of capital murder, as well as one count of attempted first degree murder of Wight, and one count of Aggravated Burglary of Wight's home.
Kahler is being held on a $10 million cash-only bond, and the Death Penalty Defense Unit was assigned as defense in the case.
Kahler was scheduled for trial Wednesday in Columbia, Mo., on a domestic assault charge stemming from a fight with his wife. He was the former director of the Water and Light Department in Columbia.
Kahler was arrested early Sunday in Shawnee County, Kan., after a 12-hour manhunt.
