KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) – A Kansas police instructor is held on $1 million bond on charges of murdering his wife, setting fire to their home and putting their two children in danger.

Thirty-five-year-old Brett Seacat made his first appearance Monday in Kingman County District Court.

Seacat is accused of killing his wife, Vashti Seacat, on April 30 – two days after she served him with divorce papers. Authorities have not said how the woman died. Her body was found in their burned-out Kingman home, which Seacat escaped with the couple’s two little boys.

Seacat told the judge he wants a court-appointed lawyer. His father told KWCH-TV after the hearing that his son is innocent and the family will find a way to prove it.

Seacat is a former Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputy and teaches basic police training for the state.
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Information from: KWCH-TV, http://www.kwch.com

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)