“Small Town Triple Homicide” scream the headlines, a momentary blip lost amidst the noise of 500 channels of infotainment, a blip likely erased by the next news cycle, eclipsed by another equally shocking story. The blip takes on greater significance when you know the victims, though.
My paternal grandparents were born and raised in Cole Camp, Missouri, a town with a steady population of about 1,000 located some two hours southeast of Kansas City. A small, rural town, Cole Camp had its moment of fame as the site of a small skirmish during the Civil War.
Cole Camp was also where I would go visit my great-grandmothers when I was very young. After they passed away, we would still go down and spend a week or so there every summer in one of their houses which my grandparents had kept.
Great-grandma Tess’ house was the oldest house in town (picture about half way down this web page), the only house on a city block’s worth of property that would have been large enough for another half-dozen houses, except for one other house. The other house belonged to Donnie and Sharon Luetjen, a couple about the age of my parents who had a son and a daughter, Terry a little older than me and Debbie about my age.
During my primary school years, during every visit my sister and I would spend hours playing with the Luetjen kids, especially Debbie. We’d play at the nearby park, sit on the porch playing Clue and other board games, and go explore the tall grasses out behind the house. One of our favorite games was a version of volleyball using an inflatable beachball and an old smokehouse for the net.
Debbie and I exchanged letters from time to time, drifting apart as my visits to Cole Camp became less frequent. Eventually, I heard she graduated from school the same year as me and then not too much later had married. Her older brother got married, too.
When Terry’s first born was just a month old, she was orphaned when her father was killed. Debbie and Terry’s parents took custody of their granddaughter, raising her as their own. They were good people, hard working and always looked out for my grandparents and their property, especially after my grandfather passed away in 1986 and my grandmother didn’t go down to Cole Camp nearly as often.
A few years ago, after my grandmother passed away, my family sold the entire property to Donnie and Sharon. Donnie, a collector and local history buffs, had long expressed interest in it, talking about turning the badly aging house into a museum of local history. As they had been so kind to my grandparents and so helpful over the years, selling the property to them felt like the right thing to do.
Over the years, I’ve heard about them on rare occasion, seeing Donnie once a few years ago on a day trip down to see the house.
Yesterday my mother sent an email to me and my sister: my uncle had heard on the news about a triple homicide in Cole Camp. Donnie and Sharon and their 15-year old granddaughter were reportedly stabbed to death. Police believe it was a robbery (Donnie’s collection of antique Indian arrowheads and other items was well-known about town) gone bad, as all of the artifacts and Donnie’s collection of guns were gone.
So now Debbie is the last member of the family. I don’t know how to get in touch with her, but would like her to know that my thoughts and prayers are with her. It is so sad that her family, kind and thoughtful people who never hesitated to lend a helping hand, would meet such a violent and untimely end.
I know that all the leaves fall from the tree, a few when they are still young and green and most when their color has faded to shades of rust and sunlight and dirt. But it seems like people who live their lives so generously deserve to die peacefully.
May they rest in peace.
christao408 
Really sorry to hear that, life is so unfair sometimes! May them Rest In Peace!
I am so, so sorry to hear about this. This must be very hard on you. I hope you can get in touch with Debbie — it sounds like she could use your comfort right now. You probably know this by now, but google shows her name to now be Debbie Armenta. This might be her? http://www.spoke.com/info/p9JrtCc/DebbieArmenta
Also, here’s the link that shows her name change: http://www.classmates.com/directory/public/memberprofile/list.htm?regId=223980851
My sympathies to you Chris and all those affected by this senseless loss of life.
I’m so sorry to hear that…… so very very sad. hugs V
Such a sad end for what seems like such a loving, caring family. I hope that you do manage to make a connection with Debbie, I wonder if the funeral home who will handle the ceremonies would be able to put you in contact with her?? I am sure that she would appreciate hearing from an old friend at a time like this. My prayers go out to her. Ruth Ann
A beautiful entry Chris. I can understand as a similar tragedy/death happened to my family. It seems the good people die first while the scoundrels drag on..the meek shall inherit the earth because the brave have fought the battles and died for their beliefs. My film which is coming out at Outfest in July was inspired my personal tragedy. http://www.motherlandmovie.com. Hope you get to see it one day.
May they rest in peace as well.
@snowjunky8 – Oh, I’m going to arrive in LA three days after the last second screening. Drat! I’m sorry to hear that you had a similar experience and I’m glad you’ve found a creative outlet to deal with it. I hope there will be an opportunity to see it. Have you submitted it to SFIAAFF?
Oh no… I’m sorry to hear about this. It’s just so senseless. I think she’ll find it comforting to hear from you again. *hugs*
@dynamiqvision – Sion, thank you so much for doing the leg work on this. I sent an email out this afternoon and hope that it reaches her. @stevew918 – @marc11864 – @venice – @Redlegsix – @yang1815 – Thank you all for your words and thoughts.
I am adding my sympathies and thoughts to the list. What a tragedy! I do remember the discussion about selling the property to them and I am shocked to hear this. May they rest in peace indeed.
Well…Sion already helped you out…but in future instances when you need to find someone you can try pipl.comMy bestfriend’s sister’s boyfriend was also shot last saturday in K-town :-everyone was distraught.
This tragic news totally shattered my impression of small town rural America. I suppose crime happens anywhere but it gets to the extreme when someone got murdered at the crime scene! I hope the police will not rule out the possibility that the culprits may come from outside of the community. My sympathies and prayers to you and your friends.
Hi, I just heard about this, I’ve heard the names and probably know them but the family has my sympathy, I live in Florence, this thing just doesn’t happen here in central Missouri. Makes me want to shut my door! If you don’t get in contact with Debbie email me and I will get her number for you.
How sad. Senseless violence leaves so many victims in its wake. I feel so bad for Debbie. She’s probably going through a very, very difficult time like that.
@TC – Thanks for your offer. Hopefully she’ll receive my email although I’m sure she has a million other more pressing things to deal with.@curry69curry – It could very well be an outsider who did it. There’s been an increase in activity with meth labs over the years and, along with that, an increase in violent crime.@TheCheshireGrins – Yes, I can barely imagine what it must be like to lose your entire family. I hope I never have to know.@Wangium – Sorry to hear that, Jason. Please extend my condolences to your friend’s family. It makes me feel like there’s suddenly a lot of violence in the US.@stebow – @ElusiveWords – Thanks for the thoughts.
Thanks, Chris.
Chris, I believe I read about it in our paper here. I am so sorry to hear that you used to know them personally. its always so shocking to hear such a cruel end to life, and more so when you know the victims. My heart felt condolences to that family.
I lived in cole camp my whole life until about 3 years ago when I moved to sedalia. I did not know them personally but I have met sharon and taron on several occasions. I used to work at the dairy bar during high school and they would come in once a week if not more for ice cream and coffee. This tragedy has offically woken the people of this sleepy town and rocked the foundation to its core. Now we know that even in the safest communities with little or no history of violent crime can be subjected to tragedy. Alot of specualtion has taken place as far as how they were murdered and who and why. The family had recently come into a large sum of money either from a family members death or donnie selling his artifacts. It would be a shame if this was the one and only motivation for this horrible cowardly crime. Rumours are swirling like crazy as they do in small towns, and I can not wait until justice is brought forth. The police are supposed to hold a press conference tomorrow 6/11, Sedalia Democrat is pretty good at keeping things updated. This town will eventually move on with life as usuall but it will take a very very long time, no longer do people feel safe leaving their doors unlocked(as many do) in this small quiet town.
Debbie found you! Loved your blog, very touching.
@Thatgirl – Thanks for your comments. I went to the Democrat’s website and was reading comments people had left, all the rumors. Some really hateful things, to the extent that the paper had started to censor comments that ran counter to their etiquette policy.@ZSA_MD – Thanks for your kind words, Zakiah.
@Leslielynmil – Thanks. She did?
Chris–Thank you for the memorial about Donnie, Sharon and Taron. I was very good friends with Terry from grade school through high school, graduating with him. We played together all the time. We also played baseball and basketball together from grade school through high school. We even coached a T-Ball team together between our junior and senior years. He was a really good guy, as were his parents. Whenever I went to his house Donnie would always show me his newest arrowhead he had found, or rare coin he had acquired (usually through a trade). I don’t remember the guns, but knew he had some really old–and rare–pieces. Donnie and Sharon were really nice to me and my family. Donnie was an outstanding athlete and was a very good fast-pitch softball pitcher. Sharon was always very nice to me and my family, and helped with our cub scout troop. Donnie always helped Terry make the most incredibly beautiful (and fast!) pinewood derby cars. I was always so fascinated by Donnie’s skills and knowledge about so many things. Donnie had a beautiful and realistic arrowhead he had made from fiberglass. He’d let you see the “newest and most valuable arrowhead in his collection” (it was a really big spear point), and as he was handing it to you he’d “fumble” the arrowhead and it would fall. Of course, your heart went into your throat before if hit the floor, thinking this very valuable artifact was about to shatter. When it hit the floor with a fat plop you realized Donnie had just punked you. Donnie would laugh about pulling that joke all the time! My folks moved away from Cole Camp while I was in college in Utah. Since Terry’s death my mind has often turned to him. It had been my intentions to get back to Cole Camp on one of my visits home from Washington, D.C., where I now live, and to stop by and see Sharon and Donnie. Unfortunately, I will never be able to do that now, to my great regret. Matt Meagher.
@Matt Meagher – Matt, thanks for sharing that story. It is very meaningful to know how many lives the Luetjens touched and it is these kindnesses that will ensure their memories live a long, long time.
Red rover, red rover-send Christopher right over!!!Hi Chris-it’s Debbie….So many memories I have of us as children. I’m still mad at you that I didn’t get to use the ‘typewriter’ as much as you, but I knew you had your news stories to get out!! LOLI am in awe of your blog entry. What a wonderful tribute to my family! I can’t tell you what it has meant to me…I read it in the midst of all the trash that the media was feeding and it helped me get through. You described them in such the beautiful manor that they were and that they truly deserved. Life has been hectic the last two weeks. There has been so many people contacting me that I can’t keep up! My cell phone rings constantly and while I’m on the phone with one person, I receive four new messages. I think I am down to about 52 messages now.I will write more personally one day soon. I just wanted and needed you to know that your thoughts helped me make it thru-everything is still such a shock and I feel that I’m on the outside looking in, helpless and lost….Please take care of yourself…we will be in touch soon!Love, Debbie
@Matt Meagher – Matt-you also had such great sentiments of my family-thank you for your thoughts and prayers as well. You meant a lot to my brother and I remember you at our house and getting mad when Terry wouldn’t let me go with you guys!!! I just wanted to tag along to!! LOL We are all having a rough time right now and are just praying that the authorities do their jobs and catch these ‘things’ (I cannot call them people or even human beings…) as quickly as possible. That is my guiding force right now and the absolute only thing getting me thru this. I cannot wait to have my day of peace when they are caught!You take care of you and jot a note sometime…..Love, Debbie
@debbed28 – Debbie, very good to hear from you and I’m glad the thoughts reached you. I’m sure right now is a tremendously difficult time for you and I hope that some resolution will be reached, some sense of closure, soon. When the time is right, let me know and we can catch up. Meanwhile, the thoughts and prayers of my whole family are with you.
@dynamiqvision – Sion, I owe you a big debt of gratitude. If you go back and read the final comments on this entry, you’ll see that thanks to you, I was able to get in touch with Debbie and share with her these thoughts and memories of her family. I really appreciate your help.
@christao408 – Hey Chris, happy to help. I’m just glad you were able to get in contact with Debbie and be a source of strength and support for her in these trying times.