Friday 5:30 a.m. Update (AP) — Hutchinson police say a 14-year-old boy is in custody after a fire at his home killed his mother and sister.

Police say the boy is suspected of deliberately setting the fire on Thursday. The teenager has not been charged.

District Attorney Keith Schroeder says investigators determined an accelerant was poured in several rooms on the first floor of the house and intentionally ignited.

Fire officials say the mother and daughter were found together in a bedroom. The girl died shortly after the fire and her mother died later Thursday.

The boy and his father were unharmed.

 

8:30 p.m.  The second victim of a house fire in Hutchinson has also died. Karla Vonachen was taken to Via-Cristi St. Francis Regional Medical Center in critical condition, but according to officials with St. Francis, she died late Thursday afternoon. Her 11-year-old daughter, Audrey also died after she was taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.

Thursday evening, 14-year-old Sam Vonachen, was taken into custody for aggravated arson and the murders of his mother and sister. A formal Juvenile Offender Petition will be filed forthwith as required by law in Juvenile Court according to District Attorney Keith Schroeder.

Both victims were found upstairs in one of the bedrooms of the two story home. Steve Vonachen, 48, Karla Vonachen, 47, Sam Vonachen, 14, and Audrey Vonachen, 11, were all inside the home when the fire started.

The fire was reported at 4 East 19th was called in around 12:17 a-m, and when crews arrived, the two story home was fully involved including the front porch. Once they got the flames under control, they then began the search of the home and found the two victims. Neither was conscious at the time.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas Fire Marshals Office, Hutchinson Police and an investigator with the Wichita Fire Department were on scene all day Thursday helping Hutchinson Fire Investigators learn the cause of the fire and where it may have started. They now say the fire was intentionally set. In a news release, Schroeder says an accelerant was poured around several rooms on the first floor of the house and ignited.

The detention of Sam Vonachen, and other released information, are based on mere accusations and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

1:23 p.m.  A child is dead and her Mother hospitalized after an early morning fire in Hutchinson on Thursday.

According to District Attorney Keith Schroeder, an 11 year-old-girl died shortly after arrival at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.

Her mother, was taken to Via-Cristi St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Critical condition. She has been identified as Carla Vonachen, who along with her husband Steve, own the home. Maria Loving of St. Francis confirms that Vonachen is a patient. A man and a teenage boy did escape the fire.

The fire at 4 East 19th was called in around 12:15 a-m, and when crews arrived, the two story home was fully involved. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with the Kansas Fire Marshals Office are on the scene investigating the cause of the fire.

Hutchinson Police are reporting the fire as a possible arson case.

7:40 a.m.  Investigators are working to determine the cause of a fatal house fire near 19th and Main Street in Hutchinson.

The fire was reported just after midnight on Thursday morning and the identities of the residents and victim haven’t been released. Stay tuned to Eagle Radio and check Hays Post for details as they become available.

 

(AP) — The manager of an eastern Kansas restaurant has been charged with harboring immigrant workers who were unlawfully in the United States.

Alex Sanchez Jr., manager of El Mezcal Mexican Restaurant in Otttawa, is named in a nine-count federal indictment returned Wednesday.

The charges allege Sanchez paid immigrant workers in cash, failed to maintain employment records for them and encouraged them to live in the U.S. for his own financial gain.

He’s also accused of providing housing for the immigrant workers in Ottawa.

The indictment accuses Sanchez of continuing to employ people he knew were in the country illegally despite being fined and ordered in 2011 to cease the alleged violations.

No phone number for Sanchez could be found, and the restaurant’s phone is disconnected.

The government is seeking forfeiture judgment.

 

AP) — An anti-evolution group has filed a federal lawsuit to block Kansas from using new, multistate science standards in its public schools

Citizens for Objective Public Education argued in the lawsuit filed Thursday that the standards promote atheism and violate students’ and parents’ religious freedoms.

The group had criticized the standards developed by Kansas and 25 other states for treating both evolution and climate change as key scientific concepts to be taught from kindergarten through 12th grade. The Kansas State Board of Education adopted them in June.

The case is the latest chapter in a long-running debate in Kansas over what to teach students about evolution.

The lawsuit argues the new standards will cause Kansas public schools to promote what it calls a “non-theistic religious worldview.”

 

(AP) — Toyota is recalling 615,000 Sienna minivans in the U.S. because they can inadvertently shift out of park and roll away.

The recall involves Siennas from the 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009 models years.

Toyota said Thursday that the shift locking device can potentially be damaged. If that happens, the minivans can shift out of park even if the driver isn’t depressing the brake pedal.

Toyota said it has gotten reports of 21 accidents and 2 injuries related to the problem.

Owners will be notified of the recall by mail. Dealers will replace the shift-lock device for free.

 

Following complaints by neighbors about open air drug sales, The I-135/I-70 Drug Task Force has arrested three people on drug charges.

Lt. Jim Norton, Drug Task Force Commander said a search warrant was executed at 823 Gypsum Monday. 52-year-old Garry Jelkin and 62-year-old Marilyn Jelken were arrested following the search.

The pair were arrested on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, controlled substances, and drug paraphernalia. Norton said several different types of prescription pain medications were found. It is believed some of the medications were obtained legally, then sold or traded illegally.

The investigation led to the arrest of a third person, 53-year-old Dewaye Wolfe at 1026 N. 12th on Tuesday.

Wolfe had been turning morphine into heroin.

Also seized was marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Wolfe was arrested for the marijuana and paraphernalia possession, and could face additional charges

7 a.m. Friday    Great Bend law enforcement have not released any new information on Thursday’s accident involving a high school student. We have learned the student was a Senior at Great Bend High School. We will report additional details as they become available.

4 p.m.The latest information from authorities in Great Bend has not included the name of the student injured  or her condition as a result of Thursday morning’s accident.

 

11:00 a.m. An accident involving a Great Bend High School student occurred this morning  on 19^th street in Great Bend

The name of the female student who was struck by the vehicle and the driver of the car have not yet been released.

According to police, the student was transported to Great Bend Hospital and had been talking to first responders.

Stay tuned to Eagle Radio and check Hays Post for details as they become available.