In this episode of Crime Watch Daily Updates: A tragic and unthinkable family murder that occurred just after Thanksgiving in 2009.
James Kraig Kahler and his wife Karen both had successful careers in Weatherford, Texas, with Kraig as the city’s director of public utilities and Karen as a personal trainer. The couple had three children: Emily, Lauren, and Sean Kahler.
Though they seemed like the perfect family from the outside, trouble brewed behind closed doors. Karen began having an affair with another person trainer named Sunny, but James knew about it and even approved of their tryst. He apparently even suggested they have a menage à trois.
James got a new job and uprooted the family to Missouri. The new location didn’t help Karen and James’ marriage, so she filed for divorce in January 2009 after he shoved her during an argument. By August of that year, he had been fired by the city of Columbia, Missouri. Karen, who was 44, and her kids moved out while James stayed with his parents in Meridien, Kansas.
November 28, 2009: Karen and the kids were at her sister’s house along with Karen’s grandmother, 89-year-old Dorothy Wight for a family Thanksgiving-weekend celebration. What should have been a day of family and celebration turned into peril when James showed up and opened fire on Karen, his daughters 18-year-old Emily and 16-year-old Lauren, and the elderly Dorothy. However, he spared his son’s life.
Emily died at the scene and Karen was holding on for dear life. Lauren and Dorothy survived long enough to tell officials James shot them. Lauren and Karen died that night and Dorothy passed away a few days later.
He was arrested November 29, 2009, for capital murder. He was convicted in August 2011, and two months later, a judge sentenced him to death.
James and his attorneys appealed the conviction because Kansas law does now allow defendants to plead guilty by reason of insanity. Instead, Kansas law states someone with mental illness could not have intended to commit a crime, and mental illness is “otherwise not a defense.”
The appeals court in Kansas upheld his conviction, and his argument made its way all the way to the Supreme Court. The highest court in the land, however, also upheld the conviction.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the majority opinion, “Contrary to Kahler’s view, Kansas takes account of mental health at both trial and sentencing. It has just not adopted the particular insanity defense Kahler would like. That choice is for Kansas to make — and, if it wishes, to remake and remake again as the future unfolds.”
Now, let’s take a look back at a case that took away the lives of three generations of women.
This is what happens when you push a man too far. Learn this lesson.
This why I will never have a son because when he grows up and gets married he may lose control one day and murder my daughter in law no absolutely not gonna happen because I refuse to ever have children so I never have to go through what that lovely family went through at the hands of that monster😢
So she cheated on her husband so what do you expect??
This broke my heart. But thank God the boy lived. ❤️🙏🏻
What a beautiful family they were. This is so sad
Poor guy Kraig,,,,he was the victim here—a victim of a money grubbing, leach of a tramp.
He didn't spare his son. He couldn't find him !
Turning to Lesbianism didn't help
I feel sorry for children only.
Being a 911 dispatcher has to be a hard stressful job. Alot of people don't realize that and give them credit. Imagine sitting on the other side of the phone and you happen to get a call like this, someone is pleading and crying for help and your sitting there helpless with only one thing to do is to send the police and hope and hope they get there in time. I know if that was me I would hate it, because when I see or hear someone is in danger I always try to step in and help but in more serious situations like this is be unable to.
An innocent man behind bars
Wow, he really did his son a favor letting him live with his mother and two sisters and a grandparent being murdered by of all people his own dad.
Great idea dad of the year 😢
The scary thing is there are a lot of men like this. Not ones that would go all the way to killing. But ones that still think they are the victim after abusing their SO, and think that they are the traitor for finding someone else that doesn't beat the shit out of them 🙃
The guy was wrong for controlling and shooting the kids but the mom on the other hand she can rest in piss
The daughter's too?
The dude had scary eyes
Ego killed those innocent ppl; just another vulnerable narcissist.
Strange piercing eyes.
Wow, wow, wow! 🥺
What’s wild is you commit a crime out of rage feeling like you lost everything but YOU were the reason you lost everything 🥴 -he wouldn’t have lost your his wife if he treated her right she wouldn’t have moved on wouldn’t have taken his money, he was the cause of everything he lost, then you go and kill them? This is just insane
Once again, just get divorced!
I'm actually surprised this doesn't happen a lot more, I mean a lot more !
His ego was hurt so he decided to kill his entire family but his son. Honestly, that speaks volumes.
I don't condone the killings of the women, but his wife did do him dirty. She had an affair with another woman, publicly carried on the relationship in front of her husband's friends, divorced him, filed for child support, turned their daughters against him, had him arrested at his job, etc…she basically reduced him to nothing. She really lit the fire that caused the explosion at the end.
Is that Chris Hansen at the end?
wonder how that Sonny feels now
Sean is grown know. So I hope
He gets help and at peace
Now why would she text him when he was already a lose canon.
The fact he thought he was going to get some of them but they pushed his ugly self out
So much actual physical proof that the Bible is real and his behavior proves it.
The wife girlfriend stated it all.
I hope he suffers everyday for the rest of his miserable life. Soulless, heartless, evil piece of sh*t. The way he describes his divorce and his having to pay support as "unbelievable" made my stomach turn. THAT'S unbelievable?? But slaughtering your own children isn't??
"heeeelp heeeeelp"
dispatcher: aol noises
Adultery can break people in unpredictable ways. It’s a dangerous game and the wife lost. (No he shouldn’t have killed anyone.)
“Make me alive.” The meaning of those words is haunting and tragic. Shook me up.
Rest and Peace for the innocent girls and grandmother indeed is a tragedy, my thoughts and prayer to the young men whom is going to be hard to live every day with the memory of this horrendous lose of the family. The cheater women should thought On her family that come first before pleasure that is why society is collapsed morally, and financial. In this liberal world the Men who are a provider, and protector of the house is taking the worst part. We men fight demons to keep going to work, everyday no matter if we are sick, pain, depressed, or heart broken, we don’t said anything just keep going and if women decide to cheat in a good decent men that means she never was ready to settle for a family
Incredibly sad and a tragedy of endless proportions. I l’m speeches swing such a beautiful family get torn to that extent. I truly hope their surviving son can somehow get through life. Blessings to their families & souls. Otherwise, the death penalty was unquestionably warranted.
Oh no, another big ass baby of a man !! Give me a break ,he is a phsyo !! He is a woman hater !! Rot in prison !!
Craig clearly hates women/ Horrific case
There's no fair game to this case. The wife is having a relationship with another women & also taking the daughters away while the father has been searching for a high paying job. He actually managed to & moved the kids together with him just to get it taken back. Also would not help since the justice system will probably give the kids to the mother anyways so that's probably what he was thinking at that time. The kids had to pay the backlash. I don't know just seems unfair for both sides.
He wasn't crazy. He couldn't accept it.
Lesbians and Gays are not normal. And to flaunt your lezbo relationship to your husband is stupid. I don't justify what he did but…..
Oh and how tf were kraig's parents allowed to keep the child?!?😱😱😱
Damn! he lost his wife, job, home, and kids and have to give them $3000 a month, and got arrested in front of colleagues.
Girls you need to give those news one at a time, not the whole fucking thing at once.
If you don't believe me then listen to this, most rich people have to pay a lot of money to their partner because the court fears that the difference in lifestyle will destroy them. It has nothing to do with their rights.
I've been a criminal defense lawyer since 1999 and worked on many capital cases. While I've never even thought this before that fellow looks seriously dark.
Damn
That’s not cool to flaunt your new love to your new ex. The one and only time I got in a fight was because of exactly that almost three decades ago.