Feb 15, 2023

Kan. man who hid murder weapon on roof of home sentenced

Posted Feb 15, 2023 2:00 PM
McGathy-photo Sedgwick County
McGathy-photo Sedgwick County

SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man is going to prison for the stabbing death of his uncle. 

On Feb. 9, 33-year-old Douglass McGathy was sentenced to 15 years and one month in prison, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office. 

In December he pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree murder.

In August of 2021, deputies were dispatched to a stabbing in the 5600 block of south 143rd Street East in Wichita, according to Lt. Benjamin Blick.

When deputies arrived, they located a 48-year-old as Kelly Joe Ralph in the driveway with multiple stab wounds. EMS transported  him to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

During the investigation, deputies learned there was a physical disturbance between Ralph and and his nephew Douglass R. McGathy over a gun sale, according to Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter. They both lived at the home.

Deputies arrested McGathy and the next day located the knife used in the murder. It was thrown on the roof of the home, according to Sheriff Jeff Easter.