Man pleads guilty to murder after woman found dead inside Olathe hotel room
A man pleaded guilty to murder this week in connection with the 2023 killing of a woman who was found dead in an Olathe hotel room, according to court records.
Franklin Bluelake, 58, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday in Johnson County District Court. Bluelake was charged more than two years ago in connection with the killing of Rhonda Morgan, 53, of Gardner.
Police opened a suspicious death investigation after finding Morgan lying unresponsive in a room at the E Lodge on West 151st Street before noon on Jan. 29, 2023.
According to court records, hotel staff contacted the police after Morgan and Bluelake failed to check out as scheduled. A staff member walked into the hotel room 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, according to court documents.
Paramedics responded and declared the woman dead. Johnson County Medical Examiners later determined that Morgan’s neck had been broken and ruled her death a homicide.
Relationship between victim and suspect
A relative of Morgan’s allegedly told police that Morgan and Bluelake were in a relationship after meeting on social media about two years before the killing. She said Bluelake periodically drove to Olathe to visit for a few days, court documents said.
According to prosecutors, security footage showed Bluelake and Morgan checking into the hotel room the day before she was found.
Prosecutors said that while Bluelake was in town, Morgan messaged her friend and said she planned to confront Bluelake about being involved with several other women.
Police said Bluelake was captured on hotel surveillance footage around 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2023, carrying a bag that looked similar to Morgan’s purse. Surveillance allegedly showed him leaving the parking lot and driving southbound on Interstate 35.
In the days after Morgan was found, Bluelake allegedly had a conversation with an ex-girlfriend asking her for money, prosecutors said. Bluelake allegedly told the woman that he accidentally broke Morgan’s neck during an altercation.
Bluelake found in Arizona
U.S. Marshals accused Bluelake of hiding out of state to avoid prosecution. Before his arrest, Bluelake was on Tribal Land before he was found in Flagstaff, Arizona, authorities said.
He was brought back to Johnson County on March 18, 2023.
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.
Bluelake is due to appear in court for sentencing at 9 a.m. Aug. 15 in Division 10 of Johnson County District Court.
Previous reporting by The Star’s Jenna Thompson contributed.
