COLE CAMP — Authorities said one man has been charged in connection with the shooting deaths of three people in rural Missouri earlier this month.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said 45-year-old Robert Blurton was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and arrested at his home in Garnett, Kan., early Saturday without incident.
Blurton is being held at the Allen County jail in Iola, Kan., on $3 million cash bond.
The bodies of 15-year-old Taron Luetjen and her grandparents — Donnie Luetjen and Sharon Luetjen — were found June 9 at their home in Cole Camp, a community of about 1,000 people about 115 miles southeast of Kansas City. They each died of a single gunshot wound.
Meyer said a 911 call from a cell phone and DNA evidence linked Blurton to the case. He said Blurton is a nephew of Donnie and Sharon Luetjen and that authorities are also seeking one or more additional suspects.
He said robbery was a possible motive.