A man charged with killing three children and wounding their mother made an initial court appearance by video Monday in a western Kentucky courtroom.
Kevin Wayne Dunlap, 36, was represented by a public defender and did not enter a plea. He appeared by video from the jail in neighboring Christian County, wearing an orange jumpsuit.
Police have charged Dunlap with three counts of capital murder in the deaths of 17-year-old Kayla Williams, 14-year-old Kortney Frensley and 5-year-old Ethan Frensley. Their mother, Kristy Frensley, was wounded but survived.
Dunlap also faces charges of kidnapping, rape, attempted murder, burglary and tampering with physical evidence. Police have not said who they believe was raped.
A coroner's statement Saturday said the older girl died from a cut to the neck and the younger children died of multiple stab wounds.
Arrest made on Saturday
An announcement was made in the courtroom Monday that family members of the victims were present but did not wish to speak to reporters.
Dunlap was arrested Saturday, three days after authorities responding to a fire at a residence in the rural Roaring Spring community near the Fort Campbell Army post found the children's bodies and their injured mother.
Military police from the post on the Kentucky-Tennessee border have been assisting Kentucky authorities in collecting evidence from the crime scene.
Dunlap is a father of at least two young children, according to records from a Christian County divorce case that was dismissed in 2004 without dissolving the marriage. Records in the divorce case show Dunlap was living at a southern Trigg County address near Fort Campbell when the case was filed.
Other records show a landlord sought to evict Dunlap and his wife from a Hopkinsville address in September 2007 but the case was dismissed. At his court appearance Monday, Dunlap said he had lived at his current address a little over a year.
When contacted by phone, Harry Lehman of Hopkinsville identified himself as Dunlap's father-in-law but declined to answer questions.
"I'd rather not talk about it," he said.
Served in the Army
Dunlap served in the Army from 1989 until 2002, according to Master Sgt. Keith O'Donnell, spokesman for U.S. Army Human Resources Command. He was ranked a staff sergeant, and his last assignment was at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. Some of his service awards included a good conduct medal, a national defense service medal and an overseas service ribbon.
After being released from the Army, he served two years with the Kentucky National Guard in a now defunct unit based in Hopkinsville, guard spokesman David Altom said. He did not deploy anywhere while serving with the guard, Altom said.
Dunlap is an employee of DirecTV, spokeswoman Caley Cronin said Monday.
"We are fully cooperating with authorities right now as they carry out their investigation," Cronin said.
Dunlap responded to a few questions from Judge James R. Redd III on Monday, including whether he is employed.
"I was," Dunlap said. Asked if he still was employed, Dunlap replied, "Probably not."
A preliminary hearing in the case was set for Friday.
Shirley Prunitsch, who lives down the street from Dunlap but didn't know him, said news of the arrest "shocked" her.
She said the houses are in a quiet residential area of a one-way street heading out of town.
"It's a wonderful neighborhood," she said. "We feel very safe here."