Missouri death sentence in triple murder upheld on appeal

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the murder convictions and death sentence for a Kansas man tried in Clay County.

Robert Blake Blurton, 51, was convicted in the 2009 killings in mid-Missouri of his aunt and uncle and their 15-year-old granddaughter, who was a cousin of his.

Blurton, of Garnett, Kan., was tried in Clay County in 2013 after he requested a change of venue.

According to trial testimony, Sharon and Donnie Luetjen and their granddaughter, Taron Luetjen, were bound and shot to death inside their home in Cole Camp in Benton County, Mo.

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Missouri death sentence in triple murder upheld on appeal."