Man arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder in uncle’s fatal stabbing near Derby
Authorities arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of second-degree intentional murder in connection with a fatal stabbing Monday night at a house in the 5600 block of South 143rd Street East, in rural southern Sedgwick County near Derby.
Douglass Ray Ryan McGathy was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail at 6:13 a.m. Tuesday, according to an online log of inmates.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said at a news conference Tuesday that McGathy stabbed his uncle, 48-year-old Kelly Joe Ralph, to death in an apparent fight over a gun sale. The men both lived in the 5600 block of South 143rd Street East.
McGathy was on scene when authorities arrived and was taken into custody there. He was booked on suspicion of murder following interviews, Easter said.
Deputies on Tuesday found the knife authorities think was used to stab Ralph “thrown on top of the roof of the residence,” Easter said.
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Lt. Benjamin Blick said deputies who went to an emergency call about a stabbing at the address found Ralph lying in the driveway with multiple stab wounds. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and died there.
The crime was reported around 9:30 p.m. Monday.
Records show McGathy was also jailed on suspicion of battery and criminal damage to property. Easter said sheriff’s investigators plan to present their case to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office in the coming days. The district attorney will decide what formal charges McGathy might face.
McGathy remained in the jail Tuesday afternoon. He is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond.
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 10:55 AM.
