Gardner woman killed by partner in hotel planned to confront infidelity: Prosecutors
A Gardner woman was killed in an Olathe hotel room by her romantic partner in January after allegedly planning to confront the man about his infidelity, according to Johnson County prosecutors.
Franklin Bluelake, a 57-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was charged with the first-degree murder of 53-year-old Rhoda Morgan in February.
Before his arrest, Bluelake was hiding out on Tribal Land before he was found in Flagstaff, Arizona.
He was brought back to Johnson County on March 18.
Killed in a hotel room
Police opened a suspicious death investigation after finding Morgan lying unresponsive in a room at the E Lodge on West 151st Street before noon Jan. 29.
Hotel staff contacted the police after Morgan and Bluelake failed to check out as scheduled and would not answer the door. After several minutes of attempting to reach the couple, a staff member walked in and noticed Morgan lying on the bed. He said he tried to talk to her, but Morgan would not answer.
Once officers arrived, they opened the door and found Morgan covered in sheets. Pulling back the covers, they noticed her skin was discolored. Blood appeared to be smeared across the woman’s nose and mouth and across the sheets.
Emergency medical services responded and declared the woman dead.
Johnson County Medical Examiners determined that Morgan’s neck had been broken and ruled the manner of a death as a homicide.
Ongoing relationship
A relative of Morgan told detectives that she and Bluelake were in a relationship after meeting on Facebook two years ago. Both were from the same area of New Mexico, according to prosecutors.
She said Bluelake would periodically travel to Olathe to visit and stay in a hotel for a few days.
According to prosecutors, security footage showed Bluelake and Morgan checking into the hotel room the day before she was found.
A friend of Morgan’s allegedly told detectives the victim had recently discovered Bluelake was involved with several other women and planned to discuss the issue.
While Bluelake was in town, Morgan messaged her friend and said she was confronting him, prosecutors say.
An ex-girlfriend of Bluelake also told police she had received messages from Morgan weeks prior telling her not to talk to Bluelake because “he uses women as a place to live and for money,” court documents state.
Just before 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 29, Bluelake was captured on surveillance footage carrying a bag similar to Morgan’s purse before exiting the parking lot and getting on southbound Interstate 35.
In the days after Morgan was found, Bluelake’s ex-girlfriend claims she received calls from him utilizing a different number asking for money. Bluelake allegedly told the woman he was in a fight with two other guys, who were beating him up.
According to court documents, Bluelake told the woman that he accidentally broke Morgan’s neck during the altercation. She said she attempted to ask him for more details, but he refused to talk about it any further.
Previously, Bluelake was released from federal prison in 2018 after serving eight years of a 10-year sentence for beating a woman and fellow member of the Navajo Nation with whom he had previously been romantically involved.
In 2009, he was accused of sexually assaulting her and threatening to kill her because her brother “sent” him to prison, according to court documents.
Bluelake is being held on $1 million bond. His next court date is set for May 3.
The Star’s Bill Lukitsch contributed.
