Garnett man charged with killing family

A 45-year-old Garnett man has been charged in the shooting deaths of three of his relatives earlier this month.

Robert B. Blurton, Garnett, is being held at the Allen County Jail on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder, Garnett Police Chief John Leinweber said. His bond was set at $3 million.

The bodies of 15-year-old Taron Luetjen and her grandparents, Donnie Luetjen, 64, and Sharon Luetjen, 61, were found June 9 at their home in Cole Camp, Mo. — a community of about 1,000 people that sits 115 miles from Ottawa.

Each of the victims died after a single gunshot wound.

Blurton, a nephew of Donnie and Sharon Luetjen, was arrested without incident early Saturday at his home in Garnett, Sgt. Scott Meyer, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said.

Authorities are seeking one or more additional suspects, Meyer said.

Johnson County Sheriff Charles Heiss, the officer in charge of the Rural Missouri Case Squad, said a 911 cell phone call that came from inside the victims’ home on the evening of June 7 and DNA evidence taken from the scene led authorities to Blurton. A Springfield, Mo., blogger recently posted information to her blog indicating that investigators believe the Luetjens were murdered sometime between the late night hours of Sunday, June 7, and Monday, June 8.

Meyer indicated that robbery may be a motive in the crime. Blurton previously served about two years in prison for theft that occurred in Linn County.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.