Missouri man convicted of killing 2 women, 2 children

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — Jurors convicted a St. Louis man of murder Friday in the 2018 shooting of his girlfriend, her two children and her mother.

A St. Charles County jury deliberated less than two hours before finding Richard Darren Emery, 50, guilty of four counts of first-degree murder. Sentencing is scheduled for Saturday. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Emery was accused of killing K ate Kasten, 39, during a Dec. 28, 2018 shooting.

Prosecutors said Emery shot her after she told him to leave while the couple argued. He then kicked in a door to a bedroom where Kasten's mother, Jane Moeckel, 61, had barricaded herself with her grandchildren, Zoe, 8, and Jonathan, 10, and shot each of them at close range, police said.

Officers shot Emery twice during an ensuing chase before he stabbed a woman while trying unsuccessfully to steal her car. He was later arrested while hiding in a bathroom at a convenience store.

Emery's attorneys argued he suffered from a mental illness that prevented him from consciously committing the crime. They sought a second-degree murder conviction, which would avoid a death sentence.