Kentucky inmate who killed 3 children, raped their mother dies awaiting execution

A western Kentucky man on death row for killing three children, raping their mother and setting their home ablaze has died, officials said Tuesday.

Kevin Wayne Dunlap, 51, died Sunday after being transported to a hospital from the Kentucky Penitentiary in Eddyville, Kentucky Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said. She said federal regulations prevented her from releasing any further information.

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Dunlap pleaded guilty in 2010 to attacking the woman in 2008 and killing her children at the home in Roaring Springs before burning it to the ground. A jury recommended a death sentence.

Dunlap approached the victim as she worked in the yard and asked to see the house, which was for sale, on Oct. 15, 2008. Once inside, he pulled a gun and zip-tied her hands and ankles. When the children came home, he tied them up and put them in a different part of the house.

The children killed in the attack were ages 5, 14 and 17. A medical examiner determined each of the children died from multiple stab wounds.

After being raped and stabbed, the mother faked her own death and escaped the burning home.

Defense attorneys sought to have the death sentence vacated, but the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld it. Justices found that a judge committed no errors in allowing Dunlap to admit to the killings and have a jury decide only if he would be condemned to death or face a lesser sentence.