Former Lawman Sentenced to Life for Wife’s Death

A defiant former Kansas police instructor has been sentenced to life in prison for the April 2011 shooting death of his wife.

Before he was sentenced Monday, Brett Seacat accused the judge of helping to convict him by hiding evidence that proves Seacat’s innocence.

The 37-year-old Kingman man told Judge Larry Solomon in a rambling courtroom statement that the judge helped convict him because Solomon wants a Kansas Supreme Court nomination.

Seacat was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for premeditated first-degree murder in the death of 34-year-old Vashti Seacat.

He also got more than six years in prison for aggravated arson and child endangerment. He will not be eligible for parole for more than 31 years.