| Advertisement |
|
|
Update:Seacat is in court for his first appearance, he was charged with First Degree Murder in the death of his wife, Vashti Seacat and other charges stemming from the fire that killed her.
--------
Brett Seacat, a law enforcement instructor and former sheriff's deputy sits in jail for the murder of his wife, Vashti. Seacat is charged with first degree murder, aggravated arson and two counts of aggravated endangering a child. Last month, Vashti was found dead inside their burned Kingman home. Brett and the couple's two children made it out of the home safely. Vashti had served Brett with divorce papers two days before her death. Seacat was a Sedgwick County Sheriff's Deputy for nearly ten years. He now teaches police work at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. Retired FBI agent Dan Jablonski is not involved in this case but says it's not unusual to wonder if and how Seacat's background plays into the crime.
"How a person with a law enforcement background might pull off a crime having knowledge of the law enforcement world and how they operate," said Jablonski.
"You take that into account but you approach everyone the same."
Seacat is not only charged with his wife's murder but also with setting their home on fire. Jablonski says arson investigation is a specialized area - not something a typical law officer may know about.
"If a fire was set intentionally and they can prove that then that is a big, big question mark," said Jablonski.Rich Forrest is Vashti's brother. He says after his sister's death, the family did think about Brett's law enforcement background. "
That goes through your mind albeit briefly," said Forrest. Forrest says the family has full trust in the investigation."
Do we know as much as we like to know? Absolutely not. But do I think there's a reason that the KBI and various law enforcement agencies have for us not knowing? Absolutely."