A trial will begin for a former U.S. Army recruiter accused of killing his ex-wife and then going on the run.
John Tufton Blauvelt, 35, is scheduled for trial in the Greenville County Court of General Sessions on Monday. He faces charges of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in the 2016 death of his estranged wife, Catherine “Cati” Blauvelt, 22. Circuit Court Judge G.D. Morgan Jr. will preside.
After being accused, Blauvelt fled South Carolina and the Army classified him a deserter. U.S. Marshals arrested him six years later in Medford, Oregon.
Kinli Abee and John Meadors of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will represent the prosecution. Public defenders Paul Neely and Anastasia Walker will represent Blauvelt. None of the attorneys would comment on the upcoming trial.
Body found in abandoned home
On Oct. 24, 2016, Catherine Blauvelt’s friends found her stabbed in the basement of an abandoned house off Southeast Main Street in Simpsonville, according to previous reports.