EUSTIS — Lane Kugler has forgiven his son-in-law for stabbing to death his only daughter. He holds no grudge for the killing of his two teenage grandsons. He speaks compassionately about the 42-year-old who, after killing his family, turned the knife on himself.
The Koch and Kugler family poses for a Christmas photo outside their home near Johnson Lake southeast of Cozad, Nebraska on Dec. 24, 2024. Sitting are Peggy and Lane Kugler. Standing from left are Asher Koch, Jeremy Koch, Bailey Koch and Hudson Koch.
BAILEY KOCH
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Lane Kugler kept the first bonsai tree that his grandson Hudson Koch grew in his home near Cozad.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
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A photo of Bailey and Jeremy Koch sit on a chair in the home of Lane Kugler near Cozad.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
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Lane Kugler talks about the deaths of his daughter and grandchildren in his home near Cozad.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
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The golf clubs belonging to Hudson, left, and Asher Koch, in front of a photo of them in the home of their grandfather Lane Kugler near Cozad.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
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A sticker on a car for Anchoring Hope for Mental Health at the home of Lane Kugler near Cozad.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
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The Kugler and Koch families celebrate Bailey Koch's graduation from Walden University in 2019. From left are Peggy Kugler, Hudson Koch, Bailey Koch, Lane Kugler, Asher Koch, Jeremy Koch and Jeremy's mother Pam Koch.
LANE KUGLER
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Lane Kugler touches one of four urns on a table in his home. They contain the remains Jeremy Koch, his wife, Bailey, and his sons, Hudson, and Asher.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
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