HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A judge will decide if a teenager will face charges as a juvenile or adult for the deaths of his mother and sister.
Today, detectives and eyewitnesses have testified before Reno County District Judge Patricia Macke Dick. The closed court hearing for Sam Vonachen started at 8 a.m.
Vonachen, 14, was arrested and charged with murder and arson in connection to a fire at a home in Hutchinson in September 2013.
His 11-year-old sister Audrey died shortly after being rescued by firefighters. Their 47-year-old mother, Karla Vonachen, was taken to a Wichita’s Via Christi on St. Francis. She died hours later.
Vonachen faces two counts of murder in the first degree for the deaths of his sister and mother. He was also charged with attempted murder in the first degree of his father, Steve Vonachen, 48, as well as aggravated arson.
Investigators say the fire was intentionally set, and that an accelerant was poured around several rooms on the first floor of the home before being ignited. Sam and Steve Vonachen made it safely out of the home, but Audrey died soon after the fire was extinguished and Karla died later at a Wichita hospital.