LYNDON — James Kraig Kahler will stand trial for the murders of his wife, two daughters and his wife’s grandmother that occurred during last year’s Thanksgiving weekend in Burlingame. District Judge Philip Fromme ruled Tuesday there was enough evidence against Kahler to go to trial. Kahler’s preliminary hearing was this week in Osage County District Court. His arraignment will be Feb. 7. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that Kahler’s 11-year-old son testified over a closed-circuit television his father charged into the kitchen of his great-grandmother, Dorothy Wight, and shot her and his mother, 44-year-old Karen Kahler. The boy testified he fled and ran to a neighbor’s house to report the shootings. His sisters, Emily Kahler, 18, and Lauren Kahler, 16, were also shot and killed. The Capital-Journal also reported Osage County emergency personnel testified that before they died, Wight and Lauren Kahler said Kraig Kahler shot them. Robert Beckham, Kansas Bureau of Investigation senior special agent, testified that Kahler bought an AK47-style assault rifle in Texas. He said that was used in the shootings.
Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2 p.m.
