A New Mexico man pleaded guilty in Johnson County District Court to murdering a Gardner woman at a hotel in 2023.
On Wednesday, Franklin Bluelake, 59, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder in the death of Rhoda Morgan. Judge Timothy D. McCarthy is the presiding judge in the case.
Bluelake and Morgan, who were involved in a relationship checked into a room at the now-closed eLODGE hotel, 20662 W. 151st St. in Olathe, on Jan. 28, 2023, according to court documents. Bluelake was later seen on security footage leaving the hotel room in the early morning hours of Jan. 29 and driving away.
At about noon on Jan. 29, 2023, officers from the Olathe Police Department responded to a call from someone that they had discovered the body of a deceased woman in the hotel room.
Bluelake was visiting Morgan in Olathe
Both originally from New Mexico, the two met on Facebook, according to court documents.
While Morgan lived in Gardner with her daughter, Bluelake would visit her and they would get a hotel room, court documents stated.
During their last visit, on the night of her killing, the two were captured on security cameras getting snacks at a Walmart in Gardner and being friendly with one another and the clerk before getting their room key.
Bluelake was going to be confronted about infidelities
When police contacted a friend of Morgan’s after her body was found, she said that Morgan had discovered he was in relationships with several other women and was planning to confront him about it.
Weeks before the visit, Morgan had been communicating with a former girlfriend of Bluelake to warn her about him, “as he uses women for a place to live and for money,” according to court documents.
Bluelake was last seen leaving the hotel
Prior to his arrest, Bluelake was last seen on the hotel’s security footage leaving the hotel at 2:23 a.m. on Jan. 29, carrying a similar purse to the one Morgan had when the couple was captured on camera at Walmart, according to court documents.
No purse, phone or wallet belonging to Morgan was located in the room they were staying in, according to court documents.
On Jan. 31, 2023, Bluelake contacted the ex-girlfriend Morgan had been communicating with and asked her for $100.
Bluelake told her that he was calling from Texas and was out of money. He also alleged that he had been involved in a fight with two men, who he said beat him up. Court documents did not specify when and where the alleged fight took place.
During the fight, Bluelake said he accidentally broke Morgan’s neck, court document stated.
An autopsy by the Johnson County Medical Examiner found that Morgan’s body had a broken bone in her neck and determined she was the victim of a homicide, court documents stated.
Bluelake was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Flagstaff, Arizona, and was brought back to Johnson County on March 18, 2023, according to the Kansas City Star.
What’s next
Bluelake is scheduled for sentencing at 9 a.m. on Aug. 15 in Johnson County District Court.
