11:00 a.m.   (AP) — 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.

 

5:oo a.m. (AP) — A former Kansas police instructor and sheriff’s deputy is due to be sentenced for the April 2011 shooting death of his wife.

Brett Seacat was convicted in June of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and child endangerment. The body of 34-year-old Vashti Seacat was found in the charred remains of their Kingman home.

The sentencing is scheduled for Monday.

Prosecutors are no longer asking the judge for a sentence of 50 years without parole. That request was withdrawn after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that juries, rather than judges, may consider facts that could result in longer minimum sentences.

Vashti Seacat died 16 days after she filed for divorce. Authorities accused Brett Seacat of killing her and setting fire to their house. He and their two sons escaped the fire.