He almost certainly will spend the rest of his life in jail after killing his wife, adult son, and a neighbor’s dog.
Two counts of first-degree murder and one count of abuse to animals were dropped against Todd Donovan, 54, in April. He got a “Hard 50” sentence on Tuesday, which means he will spend 50 years in jail before he can get out.
The charges came from a violent spree that happened in November of last year.
Friday, November 1, around 8:20 p.m., police from the city of Lenexa went to a house in the 7900 block of Hallet Street there. It was reported that there was a “armed disturbance,” and when they got there, “they heard multiple gunshots coming from the area of the residence,” the police said at the time.
Police and the subject started negotiating, which went on for hours.
“Lenexa officers spoke on the phone with the individual suspected of firing shots, an adult male, and learned he was inside his residence,” police said. But the suspect, who turned out to be Donovan, “refused to comply with officer’s requests to come outside peacefully,” and he allegedly stopped talking all together after about two hours of talks.
At 1:50 a.m., more than five hours after police arrived and after three other agencies joined the “barricade operation,” Donovan was taken into custody by a specialized unit of the Lenexa Police Department. “On a possible overdose,” cops said, he was taken to a nearby hospital.
After searching the house, cops found the bodies of Sheila Donovan, 52, and Tyler Donovan, 22. Both had been shot. Both of them were said to be dead. During the investigation, police also found that “a neighbor’s dog was shot and killed around the same time that officers responded to the first call.”
According to the court papers that were looked at, Donovan walked out of his house with his hands up and threw a gun from his garage before he stopped talking to crisis mediators. He apparently went back into his house, though, to take medicine “to help himself calm down.” He later admitted to taking about 30 Ambien.
He stopped talking to police after that, but his phone stayed on, and court records show that police “could hear him snoring in the background.”
It is said that Todd Donovan called his brother Aaron Miller that crazy November night and said he was going to kill himself.
“The suspect told police, ‘I just killed my family,'” Aaron told the police. They thought I was getting sleepy. The Johnson County Post got court papers that say, “I could hear them laughing and making fun of me, so I shot them.” He is said to have then broken into a neighbor’s house and shot their dog.
The court papers gave us more information about how the defendant was feeling when the police arrived. The Johnson County Post said that Todd Donovan “asked that officers come get him and shoot him.” When asked who lived with him, he said, “I guess a couple of traitors.”
“Get me.” He is allegedly said, “I can’t believe my family turned on me like that” and “I just want to die.” He was also reportedly armed to the teeth.
To be the “default sentence when a defendant is convicted of premeditated first degree murder committed on or after July 1, 2014,” the Kansas State Legislature set up the “Hard 50” sentence, which is a life sentence with a mandatory minimum term of 50 years in jail.
Her obituary says that people will remember Sheila Donovan for her “legacy of love, laughter, and unwavering faith.”
“Her only child, Tyler, was her pride and joy, and she loved telling everyone about him,” the Johnson County Funeral Chapel & Memorial Gardens said. “Sheila’s laugh was contagious, and her sense of humor could make any room feel better.” She made every event happy by making people laugh and have a good time.
“Seldom asked for help but was always the first to offer a hand to others,” his biography said. “His generous heart and willingness to support friends and family exemplified his selfless spirit, which will be deeply missed by all who knew him.”
