Sheriff: Suspect in Colorado triple slaying, fire arrested in Oklahoma after nationwide hunt

DENVER – A man suspected of killing three people and setting fire to a home in southern Colorado has been captured in Oklahoma after a nationwide manhunt, authorities said Sunday.

Harry Carl Mapps, 59, was captured at a motel in Roland, Oklahoma, on Saturday night, said Kirk Taylor, sheriff of Pueblo County, Colorado. No details of his arrest were released.

Taylor said Mapps was found using information developed by the U.S. Marshals Service in Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. Mapps had lived in Oklahoma.

The Marshals Service issued a fugitive warrant for Mapps and said authorities were searching for him nationwide.

Mapps is wanted on charges of fatally shooting Kim Tuttle, 55; her husband, Reggie Tuttle, 51; and their daughter, Dawn Roderick, 33. Their bodies were found in the Tuttles’ home in Rye after the house burned on Nov. 27.

The fire was ruled arson.

Three days after the fire, deputies said Mapps was their primary suspect. Authorities said Mapps had been living with the Tuttles and was working for Reggie Tuttle’s trucking company.

Taylor said money appeared to be the motive for the shootings. Authorities claimed Mapps stole checks made out to one of the victims and cashed them on the day of the fire. He also faces theft, identity theft and forgery charges.

Friends called the Tuttles generous and caring people.

“Kim and Reggie would help anyone who needed it,” said Winnie Owens, a friend and neighbour. “The hearts of everyone in this valley go out to that family.”

Kim Tuttle worked on the culinary staff at Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo.