Derby man sentenced in 2021 stabbing death of uncle after argument in driveway
A 33-year-old Derby man has been ordered to serve 15 years, 1 month in prison for fatally stabbing his uncle in the driveway of their Derby-area home more than a year ago.
Douglass Ray Ryan McGathy was sentenced Thursday by Sedgwick County District Judge Tyler Roush in the Aug. 30, 2021, death of Kelly Joe Ralph, 48. McGathy pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree unintentional murder on Dec. 22, court records show.
Authorities have said Kelly was stabbed around 9:45 p.m. in the 5600 block of south 143rd Street East when he tried to calm down his nephew after a prolonged domestic fight with a woman. Their conversation turned into an argument when Ralph reportedly refused to take McGathy to a handgun that had been sold, according to an affidavit released by the court. But it’s unclear exactly why McGathy decided to pull a fixed blade knife and stab Ralph several times in the back, abdomen and face.
Ralph died at a Wichita hospital less than an hour later.
Family and friends told McGathy in court they didn’t understand why he murdered Ralph, a “good guy” who didn’t deserve to be killed by anyone, let alone by a nephew he had “always stuck up for.”
“He murdered a very nice man, and I think he should get the maximum sentence,” Ralph’s uncle, Walter Honer, told the judge. He said he thought McGathy should have been charged with a more severe crime: first-degree murder.
Tony Wood said he’d written a long letter to McGathy that he never mailed expressing his anger and grief. “I’m not sure why you stabbed my best friend to death,” Wood said in court, calling McGathy a coward.
“Your poor choices took your freedom. ... I hope you rot in hell.”
McGathy, dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit and shackles, said “No, I’m good” when the judge asked if he wanted to speak on his own behalf.
The prosecution and McGathy’s defense attorney both asked Roush to impose the sentence suggested in the plea agreement: 181 months in prison.
Roush said he would, even though Ralph’s family and friends wanted more time, in part because McGathy’s plea saved the cost and trauma of a trial and because the lawyers who negotiated his plea deal had recommended it.
Under state sentencing guidelines, McGathy could have received as many as 200 months, which is more than 16 years.
Before announcing the sentence, Roush called the case a “bewildering” and “sad” example of traumatic incidents between relatives that “strains everyone” and “wrecks families.”
“There just is nothing at the end of the day that will bring back a loved one. ... So it’s just a matter of making the best decision that I can,” he said.
