Lynn Hermansen and Jennifer McDaniel
gardner news
A 57-year-old New Mexico man charged with murdering a Gardner woman in late January is scheduled to appear in Johnson County District Court later this week.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 11 a.m. at Franklin Blue Lake in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He appeared in court for the first time on his March 20th. Blue Lake is facing first-degree murder charges in the murder of his 53-year-old Rhoda Morgan, who was found dead in his Oleis Hotel room shortly before noon on January 29. increase.
Police were dispatched to conduct a welfare check after a guest failed to check out of a hotel on the 20600 block of West 151st Street, according to reports. was discovered, prompting an investigation into the death. After an autopsy, Oris Police announced that the death was ruled a homicide.
Within days, investigators focused on Blue Lake, who was suspected of fleeing the state. Investigators reportedly worked with the U.S. Marshals Service to track down and arrest Blue Lake, who was believed to be a fugitive. He was later found near Flagstaff, Arizona in mid-February. He was extradited to Kansas on murder charges after he spent nearly 30 days in prison in Coconino County, Arizona.
Bluelake was arrested and taken to the Johnson County Adult Detention Center on March 18. He is currently being held at the New Century Adult Detention Center on $1 million bail.
Blue Lake has an extensive criminal record dating back to at least 1987 when he pleaded guilty to assault charges in Tucson, Arizona. Court records show Blue Lake faces numerous criminal charges in Arizona and New Mexico, including domestic assault, violation of a restraining order. , aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and two cases of kidnapping for the purpose of inflicting serious physical harm, including death, bodily injury, or sexual assault.
Blue Lake was sentenced to 120 months in Arizona Federal Penitentiary after pleading guilty in September 2009 to assaulting and seriously injuring him on tribal land, according to court documents. He was released in 2018 after serving less than 10 years of his sentence.
About a month before Morgan’s murder, Blue Lake was arrested on New Year’s Eve in New Mexico for DUI and three other traffic violations. He was later released and was scheduled to appear in court on February 7, but was unable to attend the hearing. In that case, a bench warrant was later issued.
