Brett Seacat Trial: Prosecution rests in case of ex-Kansas cop accused of killing wife, setting house on fire
(CBS) KINGMAN, Kan. - The prosecution rested their case Tuesday in the trial of Brett Seacat, a former police officer accused of killing his wife, Vashti, and setting their Kansas home on fire in April 2011, CBS affiliate KWCH reports.
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The prosecution argued that Brett Seacat killed his 34-year-old wife because she was going to divorce him and that he intentionally set the house on fire to cover his tracks.
"Fire destroys evidence, nobody knows that better than a law enforcement officer," Assistant Attorney General Amy Hanley said during opening statements on May 22.
Brett Seacat, 37, is accused of shooting his wife in the head and then starting two fires in different locations of their Kingman, Kan. home on April 30, 2011. The prosecution contends he attempted to frame his wife and wrote a suicide note in her journal as part of his plan. He is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated arson.
Brett Seacat and the couple's two sons were at home the night of the fire. They were able to escape the blaze unharmed.
On Monday, Connie Sudeman, a therapist who served as the Seacat's marriage counselor from November 2010 to April 2011, testified that Brett Seacat called her hours after his wife's death and confessed to killing her.
"He said, I killed her, Vashti is dead and it's my fault, that's what he said," Sudeman testified, according to KWCH.
Sudeman also testified that she had seen Vashti 11 days before her death. She testified that Vashti said she was happier than she'd been in years but was worried about how her husband was handling their divorce.
The defense argues that Vashti Seacat intentionally set the house on fire and committed suicide.
Defense attorney Roger Falk has previously said there are three important pieces of evidence in the case: the autopsy report, the suicide note and Vashti's depression. He says the defense will present clinical notes that show Vashti had been diagnosed with a major depressive disorder.
The defense also argues that Vashti was having an affair with a co-worker and that her husband found about it and threatened to report it to her company if she left him.
The defense motioned for an acquittal Tuesday, but the judge denied the request due to sufficient evidence presented by the prosecution, KWCH reports.
