GARNETT, Kan – A small community is shocked about its sudden connection to the shooting deaths of three people in rural Missouri.
Authorities arrested Robert Blurton early Saturday morning at his home in Garnett, Kan. He is accused of killing 15-year-old Taron Luetjen and her grandparents, Donnie and Sharon Luetjen, on June 9
in Cole Camp, Mo. Blurton is a nephew to Donnie and Sharon Luetjen.
The police chief in Garnett said it has been two decades since the town had a homicide, so even providing a backdrop for a murder arrest is unfamiliar territory.
“This is one of the bigger events we’ve had here in many years,” said Chief John Leinweber.
However, prison is not an unfamiliar place for the suspect. Blurton has spent 26 of his 45 years behind bars for things like armed robbery, property crimes, drug possession and forgery, according to Leinweber.
The Garnett Police Department found out about the arrest warrant on Friday evening. With the help of several different jurisdictions, tactical teams surrounded Blurton’s home in the 400 block of West 6
th Avenue early Saturday morning.
Authorities arrested Blurton without incident, which was a relief to Leinweber. The suspect was living at the home with his girlfriend and her 11-year-old daughter.
“We had info that he had a violent past. He spent many years in prison and we did not want a hostage barricaded situation,” he said.
A couple houses away, Elsie Fraker told NBC Action News that she had recently hired Blurton to do yard work for $8 per hour.
“He seemed real polite,” Fraker said.
But Sunday morning, the long-time Garnett resident saw the news and made the surprising connection.
“I said to my husband, ‘That’s the guy that I had pull weeds and help in the yard,” she said. “I could not believe it! It’s a shocking and creepy feeling.”
Other neighbors said the suspect is relatively unknown on the street, only seen outside occasionally mowing the lawn.
“Knowing you were sleeping a half-block away from a murderer… that’s kind of scary, you know?” said neighbor Tony Gettler.
Blurton is being held at the Allen County jail in Iola, Kan. on $3 million cash bond. He is awaiting extradition back to Missouri.
On Saturday, the Missouri Highway Patrol said DNA evidence and a 911 call linked Blurton the case. Robbery was a possible motive, according to authorities.
Investigators are still looking for other suspects.
