The Lenexa man who authorities say killed his wife, son and a neighbor’s dog before an hours-long standoff on Friday night made his first court appearance Monday afternoon.
Todd M. Donovan, 53, appeared in Johnson County District Court to hear the charges against him, which include two counts of premeditated first-degree murder.
He’s accused of killing his wife, Sheila Donovan, 52, and their son, Tyler Donovan, 22.
He faces a third count of cruelty to animals in connection to the death of a neighbor’s dog.
Attorneys from the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit asked the court to appoint their unit as legal representation for Donovan.
The Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit is part of the Kansas State Board of Indigents’ Defense Service, commonly called the Public Defender’s Office.
The attorneys said they had attempted to visit Donovan in the Johnson County adult detention center over the weekend to gather more details about the case and advise him.
However, the Sheriff turned them away, they said, because they had not been formally appointed as Donovan’s defense team.
After ensuring that Donovan understood what was happening with the potential appointment of a defense team, Judge Wayne Smith agreed to provisionally appoint the defense unit to represent Donovan so that they could begin meeting with him.
If Donovan doesn’t financially qualify for the unit’s representation, then he will need to hire an attorney himself. He can also refuse their services and hire an attorney for future court appearances.
Attorneys from the unit said they plan to meet with Donovan in the jail as soon as possible to gather more information from him and see if he qualifies for their services.
The judge set Donovan’s bond at $2 million.
Prosecutors asked that Donovan surrender his passport if he were to bond out of jail. He would also be placed on house arrest with GPS monitoring, along with several other conditions.
Donovan’s next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 11 a.m.
