CRIME: PERRYVILLE WOMAN SLAIN; KILLER TURNS GUN ON HIMSELF

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Family members of a 37-year-old woman shot by an acquaintance spent Thursday reading her journal and consoling each other.

"Lauren was my hero," said Jill Roth, one of Lauren Blessing's nine siblings.

Blessing's body was found Wednesday morning just inside the front door of her home at 613 Bruce St. Her killer, 46-year-old Walter K. Martin of St. Mary, Mo., was lying a short distance from her body with a single gunshot wound to his head.

No suspects are being sought in the apparent murder-suicide. Blessing's death was the fourth homicide in the town of about 7,500 this year, a town formerly unaccustomed to reports of violence so close to home.

Officers went to Blessing's home after a call at 8:41 a.m. from one of her supervisors at automotive-parts manufacturer TG Missouri in Perryville. The supervisor had gone to the house with a co-worker after Blessing didn't show up for work, said Rhonda Ruark, human resources manager at TG Missouri.

The glass in Blessing's front storm door was broken, but the supervisor didn't go inside.

Two Perryville policeman and a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper responded and found the two bodies. Both died of wounds from a 9mm handgun, police said.

A lover of nature

Investigators believe that Martin was allowed to enter Blessing's home without a confrontation. Once inside, Martin stepped into the living room area while Blessing remained at the front door, where she was shot.

Blessing had no relationship with Martin, said Rhonda Rowland, one of Blessing's sisters. It is possible that she opened her door because she recognized Martin, who had dated and broken up with another one of her sisters, Rowland said.

Martin's breakup with the sister had not gone well, Rowland said.

Blessing was the ninth of 10 children, and she was quiet and private, Roth said. She kept a journal, where she expressed her thoughts about her garden, flowers and changes in the weather.

She was fond of annual family trips to beaches, either on the Gulf Coast or eastern seaboard. Her family admired her faith in God. "That's how we know she is in a much better place now," Roth said.

Blessing had worked at TG Missouri since 1990, Ruark said. She was a quiet, pleasant person, the manager said.

Her personality was reflected in her tidy, well-kept blue house.

"That's the way people here will remember her," Ruark said.

Violent year

Three other homicides have shaken Perryville this year.

On Feb. 8, Russell A. Cline allegedly shot another Perryville man after a drug deal went bad. Cline, charged with second-degree murder in the shooting, has a jury trial scheduled for Jan. 10.

Samuel D. Lowe of St. Louis is believed to have stabbed to death an elderly Perryville couple on April 7. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and other crimes, which have led Perry County Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Hoeh to seek the death penalty. Lowe's trial is scheduled for April 30.

The mood of residents in Perryville on Thursday was not fear, said Craig Lindsley, Perryville city manager. They just wonder what happened.

"You can hear people recalling how they knew her brothers or sisters," Lindsley said.