THE THREE-IN-A-BED KILLER
WHEN Karen Kahler’s sex-mad husband James begged her for a threesome with another woman, she had no idea of the bloody carnage to come. When Karen began a lesbian affair with the woman he had earmarked for their threeway session, it sadly signalled the end of their marriage – and the lives of her and her children... THE most heart-breaking moments of James Kahler’s murder trial revolved around his son.
Young Sean was just 10 when he saw his mum, two sisters and his grandmother cruelly gunned down by his own father.
Somehow, Sean had escaped unharmed before fleeing to a neighbour’s house to raise the alarm.
But despite the atrocities his young eyes had seen, this little boy pleaded with the jury not to hand his father, a man he once idolised, a death sentence.
Sean didn’t want anyone to inflict any more suffering on a family already torn apart and hurting badly.
In a statement, he said: “I do not want my dad to receive the death penalty as it would be hard on my grandparents. I do not want my whole family gone.”
Kahler’s trial heard that Sean’s older sister Lauren, 16, had begged for her life while writhing in agony in the arms of a police officer as she took her last breaths.
In horrifying audio recordings played in court, she’d cried out: “Don’t let me die… I don’t want to die!”
Yet die she did, along with her sister Emily, 18, mum Karen, 44, and her granny Dorothy Wight, 89. The women didn’t succumb to their injuries quickly but died in excruciating pain while suffering the added torment of knowing it was someone so close to them who had been the one repeatedly pulling the trigger.
Execution
And now Kahler, once a respected family man, must suffer the same fate as his children and estranged wife as he awaits his own execution on Death Row.
Having married in the early 90s, Kahler and Karen appeared on the face of it to be a wealthy, charming couple who lived the ideal suburban life.
An engineering whizz, Kahler went to Kansas State University, where he’d met Karen, before earning a top job at a firm in Colorado.
While living there they had their first child, Emily. They then moved to Weatherford, Texas, where Kahler was handed the job of the town’s utility director.
It was a prestigious, well-paid role that saw the Kahlers living in a lavish mansion.
It wasn’t long before two more kids, Sean and Lauren, arrived.
According to friends, Karen really relished being the “perfect homemaker” and would often describe how she loved to make her husband happy.
Yet unseen trouble simmered beneath the surface.
Karen confessed to her sister Lynn that Kahler had developed a huge appetite for sex, demanding intercourse every night without fail.
Lynn admitted: “It was just something Karen did to make things run smoothly in the household.”
He also handed her a bizarre curfew, as if she was a teenage girl, demanding that she be in bed at 9pm sharp each evening.
Kahler was getting ever more controlling, demanding to know how much money Karen had spent on household items, even rifling through her receipts.
Feeling more and more trapped, Karen was desperate to find an outlet away from home, so she joined the local gym.
Kahler was uneasy, but when Karen raised the membership money herself by baking and selling cakes, he agreed to indulge her.
Karen loved it, so much so that she was soon hosting her own classes.
It was then that she met fellow fitness instructor Sunny Reese and the pair developed a close friendship.
Recognising the bond between the pair, Kahler saw an opportunity to sate his sexual desires.
He sent flowers and texts to Sunny, trying to entice her into his and Karen’s marital bed for a threesome.
Fantasy
But his plan backfired, only ending up with Sunny and Karen falling into each other’s arms instead.
Sensing that his wife, and his ultimate sexual fantasy, were slipping through his fingers, Kahler tried to take back control of the situation.
In June 2008 he moved the family out of town to Columbia, Missouri, hoping Karen would soon forget her new infatuation. Yet Sunny and Karen continued their relationship.
Sunny even sent a text message to Kahler telling him: “She is only staying with you because it’s best for the kids. She does not love you the way you think. Ask her, and you will see that I’m right by the look in her eyes.”
At a New Year’s Eve party back in Weatherford at the end of 2008, things finally came to a head when Karen was seen by guests kissing Sunny.
Kahler exploded with rage. Not only was his wife still cheating on him, she’d done so in public, embarrassing him in front of his friends.
Within days, Karen had filed for divorce.
By March 2009, the separation had become bitter as they fought over money, the house and
their children.
After an altercation in their home, Kahler was arrested for domestic assault.
Karen fled, their three children in tow, and for the next year Kahler’s life proceeded to implode.
He refused to see his two daughters, furious that they had accepted Sunny as their mother’s new partner, and sought to visit only his son.
He neglected his work and eventually lost his job... and his sanity.
On November 28, 2009, Kahler barged into the home of Karen’s grandmother Dorothy Wight, where his family were staying, and executed them one by one, sparing only the life of his son.
Wounds
The three Kahler women each had two wounds. Wight had one. The bullets used in Kahler’s handgun were designed to fragment on impact so as to cause severe damage.
Emily Kahler was shot through her breast and back, wounds that are thought to have paralysed her instantly.
She was the only victim who was already dead when paramedics arrived.
Karen, who had been standing at the sink washing up with son Sean, was shot in the leg and then in the back.
Lauren was shot in the back and buttocks, wounds that ripped apart her intestines leaving her clutching her stomach in agony.
She somehow managed to crawl from the top of the stairs to a bedroom, leaving a bloody trail behind her.
Dorothy was shot in the left arm, but a bullet fragment ended up in her abdomen.
She died four days later in hospital.
During Kahler’s subsequent murder trial in August 2011, brave Sean described the scene.
Holding back tears, he said: “My dad came through the door and shot my mum.
“I heard her collapse on the floor. I just caught a glimpse. I think she was holding her leg.
“The first thing I did was duck down, then he went around the kitchen counter and that’s when I ran out of the door.
“My first thought was to go in and get a phone, so I was trying to find a way to get back in.
“I started opening the door, but I saw my dad go by again so I closed it.”
Hearing more gunfire, Sean ran and knocked on the door of a nearby house.
He added: “I told them to call 911 because there had been a shooting across the street at Dorothy Wight’s house.
“Once I’d calmed down I told them my dad had shot my mum, sisters and grandma.”
Knife
Kahler was picked up by police just a few hundred yards from the crime scene, walking along the side of the road with a hunting knife in one hand and a gun in the other.
He was repeating: “I’m the man you’re looking for. I messed up. I messed up...”
Despite entering a plea of insanity, Kahler was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder.
In October 2011 he was subsequently sentenced to be executed.
Unrepentant to the last, as he’d exited the courtroom Kahler told his parents: “Take care of Sean so he’s not raised by a bunch of freaks,” referring to the relatives of his wife who were caring for the boy.
Poor Sean was placed in the care of the state, still trying to comprehend what happened to his once-perfect life as he prepared to become an orphan.
Sunny Reese was also left on her own.
She later said: “I only wanted to protect Karen. I thought I could...”