At an emotional hearing where he was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison for attempting to murder his wife and children in their Kansas home, a sobbing former Crossroads Christian Church children’s pastor, Matthew Lee Richards, repented of his actions. While reading from Psalm 51, he pledged to be like its writer, King David, in his recovery.
“In the past 18 months while incarcerated, I’ve been given time to look back and admit my failures to myself and to God but no one else and I sought change to improve myself,” the 43-year-old said in a prepared statement read before District Judge Jason B. Billam.
“Because of that, it’s hard to put into words, but the words of David in Psalm 51 [have] repeatedly been my prayer. So I wish to read them today because David put it into words … my repentant heart, better than I ever could have,” he said last Wednesday as he proceeded to read the entire chapter.
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Richards, who initially faced four charges of attempted first-degree murder, one charge of attempted capital murder and one charge of aggravated arson, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder last month.
Investigators said they were called along with the local fire department to the family’s home about a report of a disturbance and a house fire at 3:47 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2023.
They later discovered that the pastor’s children and wife suffered “laceration injuries of varying degrees.” Richards’ wife and two of his children were hospitalized at the time. His 19-year-old son and two of his other children were treated and released.
Police statements cited in an affidavit said they received several 911 calls about Richards’ attack.
The family had lived in their four-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home in Shawnee since it was purchased in December 2016. Civil court records cited by the Kansas City Star show that in November 2022, a foreclosure petition was filed for the home.
Richards had been working as a seventh-grade English teacher at Christ Preparatory Academy since 2020, according to his staff biography. His wife, Stephanie, was the director of Crossroads Christian Preschool and Parents Day Out. They owed $155,429 on their mortgage at the time. Public records indicate the home was sold in June 2023.
Richards could not bring himself to tell his family about the foreclosure or that he was struggling with an undiagnosed mental illness, according to his sister who called him “a good guy” who “did a bad thing.”
“This is not one where a bad guy did a bad thing,” Richards’ sister told the court, according to a recording of the hearing by Law & Crime. “He’s a good guy that did a bad thing. There are consequences to this and no one is denying this situation. Nobody. We all know there’s consequences.”
Richards’ sister argued that her brother should not be without their father for nearly 30 years. She also blamed his actions on mental illness.
“Honestly, he was a present father. He didn’t have a present father and he was a present father. He’s a wonderful man who helped everybody that he could. He just didn’t know how to help himself,” she said.
“Mental illness is a real thing. Now that we know what it is, we know how to go about fixing things and treating things,” she added.
In a short statement to her son, Richards’ mother assured him that she would always love him.
“My little boy yesterday, my friend today, my friend forever,” she said through tears. “Never forget that I am so proud of you and I love you more than anything in this world.”
Richards asked for forgiveness from the people who looked up to him, including his family.
“I stand here today to address the court, my community kids and their parents who relied on me. Most importantly, my family, to ask for forgiveness and grace which is something I know I don’t deserve again,” he said. “I will live every day with that disgrace, but I hope to be like David. I choose to try and use my failures to continue to improve myself, and then help those I have disgraced recover along with me.”
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