LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The father of a young man killed last year believes his son died protecting his family, adding he hopes to change the law to test for impairment in violent crimes.

Karl Groschen, 41, is accused of killing his wife, Anastasiya Akutsina, 44; and his stepson, Sergei “Evan” Scoggins, 20, on Oct. 11, 2024, inside a Henderson, Nevada, home. A grand jury later indicted Groschen on charges of open murder and child abuse, records said.

Andrew Scoggins, Evan’s biological father, suspects his son attempted to protect his mother and half-brother during the shooting.

“He didn’t leave his little brother, and he didn’t leave his mother,” Scoggins said from his home in North Carolina. Scoggins was overseas teaching in Vietnam when he learned of the killings.

Evan was studying filmmaking at the College of Southern Nevada and working a part-time job at Taco Bell, his father said.

“Evan heard gunshots and ran back inside,” Scoggins recalled about that day. He and Akutsina divorced when Evan was 3 years old, Scoggins said. After Akutsina married Groschen, the family moved to Nebraska and eventually to the Las Vegas area. Groschen and Akutsina later had a child together. The 5-year-old was not injured in the shooting.

Prosecutors and police believe Akutsina, Groschen and Evan argued in the home’s garage before the shooting. A neighbor told police that she overheard Groschen telling Evan to “get the [expletive] out of here” and saw Groschen pushing Evan outside toward his car, documents said.

“What do you do for your mom? Anything, you know,” he said about his son’s actions.

A few seconds later, the witness heard a gunshot in the garage and saw Evan run into the home. The witness then told police she heard several more gunshots and then silence.

“Divorce was looked into,” Scoggins said about Anastasia. “Anastasia, according to Evan, had sought counsel and a divorce lawyer.”

In body camera video obtained by affiliate KLAS last year, Groschen tells the officer the shootings were in self-defense.

“There’s two dead bodies, you’ve got to arrest me,” he said. “You’ve got to take me. I thought they were trying to kill me.”

Police nor prosecutors have provided evidence the shootings were in self-defense. Both Akutsina and Evan appeared to have been shot at close range several times.

Scoggins said Evan feared Groschen would be violent. In one message Evan sent to his father, he warns if he does not receive a student loan: “Things won’t be good for me.”

“The anger won’t bring my son back. It will give him a small taste of what things have been like for me and my family, and for Anastasia’s family more importantly,” Scoggins said.

Body camera video shows Groschen walking out of the home and toward officers carrying prescription medication, Scoggins said. Scoggins wants to change the law so police can get a better understanding of what may be in a person’s blood at the time they are arrested for a violent crime.

“I think with violent crime in general, it’s important to understand someone’s state of mind,” Scoggins said.

The process is not standard because officers have no probable cause.

“There’s a lot of questions that we can just check the box with toxicology,” Scoggins said.

In the week after the murder, burglars targeted the home Evan, Groschen and Akutsina shared. Henderson police responded to the property for at least two burglaries, they confirmed to KLAS.

Thieves stole electronics, furniture and Evan’s and Akutsina’s cars, Scoggins said.

Henderson police said the Fourth Amendment prohibits taking a person’s blood for testing except when impairment is suspected to have affected a crime:

A blood test or a toxicology test is considered a search, which is subject to 4th Amendment protection. For law enforcement to obtain this type of testing, there would need to be probable cause to obtain a search warrant.

The concept of probable cause includes a necessity for there to be evidence that can be recovered.  Impairment in this case is not considered evidence because impairment is not an element for the crime of murder.  Contrast this to a DUI case, where it specifically hinges on the element of impairment.

Furthermore, if the elements of a specific crime states that we must obtain blood test or toxicology test to determine impairment, it would be beneficial to the investigation.

This would not be something we would change within our policy to obtain such tests.

Office of Public Information, Henderson Police Dept.

Groschen has pleaded not guilty. A judge was expected to schedule his trial during a hearing Wednesday.