LYNDON — An Osage County jury has recommended Tuesday that James Kraig Kahler, 48, be put to death for the murders of his family. They convicted Kahler after a little more than two hours of deliberations last week. Kahler was convicted of shooting of his wife, Karen Kahler; their two teenage daughters, Emily and Lauren; and Karen Kahler’s grandmother, Dorothy Wight at Wight’s home in Burlingame during the 2009 Thanksgiving weekend. The attorney general’s office, which helped prosecute the case, said it’s the first time a Kansas jury has recommended a death sentence since March 2009, when Justin Thurber was sentenced to death for the 2007 rape and murder of Cowley County Community College student Jodi Sanderholm in Arkansas City. The Topeka Capital-Journal and Associated Press reported that Kahler’s 12-year-old son Sean, who fled during the shootings and testified against his father, asked the jury not to impose the death penalty. District Judge Phillip Fromme will consider the jury’s recommendation when he sentences Kahler Oct. 11.
Tuesday, Aug. 30, 8:30 a.m.
