Children’s Pastor Stabbed Wife and 5 Kids in Vicious Spree — and Innocent Son's Question Still Haunts the Case

The Kansas youth pastor who attempted to kill his family and then set his home on fire was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison.

Matthew Lee Richards was sentenced to 29 years and 5 months in prison on Wednesday, March 28, according to online court records.

In February, Richards pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted first-degree murder after a September 2023 incident, court records indicate.

Richards, who worked as a youth pastor in Shawnee, Kan., stabbed his wife and five children on Sept. 16, 2023, before lighting their home on fire, the Johnson County Post reported, citing a probable cause statement.

Richards’ wife and three of the children were seriously injured in the vicious attack.

One of the children told police they’d been in bed when Richards began stabbing them, KCTV reported.

“I stabbed my family,” Richards reportedly told police after he was arrested, KMBC reported.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 

Johnson City Post, citing an affidavit, reported that Richards told police he remembered his son asking a haunting question.

“Dad, why do you have the knife?” the boy reportedly asked.

Financial worries motivated Richards, whose family was set to be evicted on the day of the stabbings, prosecutors said, according to the Johnson County Post. His family was unaware of the pending eviction, the paper reported.