A former youth pastor in Shawnee, Kansas, pleads guilty to two counts of attempted first-degree murder after setting his house on fire to hide financial problems.

 

42-year-old Matthew Lee Richards was originally charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of arson with the risk of bodily harm following the 2023 incident that burned down his family home. Police and fire crews were called to the scene on September 16, 2023, to find the Richards' home in flames. Police also found three victims – one adult female and two children - with stab wounds waiting outside the house. One of the children told officers that their father had stabbed them. The three were taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening wounds. Three other children sustained minor injuries.

 

Richards later told police that he had hidden the family's financial issues from his wife and that he expected them to be evicted from their home. He told investigators that he thought it would be better if they all died rather than deal with the trauma of learning the truth.

 

At the time of the incident, Richards worked for the Crossroads Christian Church in Shawnee as a youth pastor. His sentencing is set for March 26.