MARC JACOBS
Hutch Post
Less than two months after pleading guilty in the deaths of 32-year-old Kalsey Payton and a 4-year-old girl, 37-year-old Wendell Payton was sentenced Monday afternoon to consecutive life terms in Reno County District Court.
27th Judicial District Judge Daniel Gilligan ordered two 50-year sentences for first-degree murder to run consecutively, resulting in a controlling sentence of 100 years without the possibility of parole. Payton will not be eligible for parole consideration until after serving 50 years. Additional sentences related to aggravated arson, child endangerment, and interference with law enforcement were ordered to run concurrently with the homicide sentences.
Payton pleaded guilty on Oct. 17 to two counts of intentional, premeditated first-degree murder, aggravated arson, aggravated endangering of a child, two counts of interference with law enforcement officers, and domestic battery against Kalsey Payton. As part of the plea agreement, Payton waived his right to appeal the sentence.
The charges stem from a Feb. 1 fire at a residence in the 1000 block of East Third Avenue in Hutchinson. Kalsey Payton and the 4-year-old girl were found inside the home after firefighters responded to the reported blaze.