Platte County man who killed four of his family members sentenced to four life terms
A Platte County man was sentenced to four life terms without parole and an additional 115 years for killing four of his family members including a three-month old baby.
Grayden Denham was convicted in December on four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action, animal abuse, second-degree arson and stealing, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said in a news release.
Denham was sentenced Friday by Platte County Judge James Van Amburg.
On Feb. 19, 2016, firefighters responded to Buena Vista Road near Edgerton where they found Denham’s grandparents’ home fully engulfed in fire.
The bodies of Russell Denham, 82, Shirley Denham, 81, Heather Ager, Grayden Denham’s 32-year-old sister, and her three-month-old son Mason Schiavoni were discovered. They had been shot and burned. The family dog, Jack, had also been shot and burned.
Witnesses said there had been tension between Denham and his family, and that Denham and his father had been seen arguing the day before the murders.
Two pennies were found near or on the eyes of the victims, Zahnd said. Grayden Denham’s girlfriend testified at trial that one of his favorite movies was “The Boondock Saints,” in which the killers place pennies on the eyes of their victims after shooting them.
Grayden Denham, who had been living at the house, had fled in his grandmother’s car. He was eventually arrested in Arizona.
“These were shocking and gruesome murders of a loving family,” Zahnd said in a statement.
Defense attorney Patrick Berrigan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
