A 73-year-old romance novelist, known for incorporating homicidal themes into her erotic fiction, has been charged with murder in Montana. Kyle Ann Morrow is accused of fatally shooting Gene Gudmundson, 78, the owner of the Spa Hot Springs Motel in White Sulfur Springs, on July 12.
Morrow allegedly confessed to the crime immediately after, telling a front desk clerk, "He is a son of a b****. I shot him," according to a police booking affidavit. The clerk discovered Gudmundson deceased in his office, surrounded by blood.
Authorities identified Morrow as a suspect after surveillance footage showed her Nissan Frontier leaving the motel premises. When deputies went to her home, she initially refused to open the door. She was later apprehended by state troopers and sheriff's deputies as she attempted to flee the residence.
Morrow was arrested at her home and subsequently charged with one count of deliberate homicide by the Meagher County Sheriff's Office. Deputies reportedly found a collection of suicide notes in her home in which she allegedly admitted to killing Gudmundson. A handgun case, a bottle of Jameson whiskey, cigarettes, and a lighter were also allegedly seized from her vehicle.
Morrow, who previously worked at the Spa Hot Springs Motel, had reportedly been permitted by the owners to sell her books on the premises. Her published works on Amazon include titles described as "Montana romance with a rodeo erotica subplot," with one novel beginning with a narrator's "homicidal thought" about her abusive husband, and another depicting a character firing a gun at a man's vehicle.
Investigators are exploring various motives for the killing, including whether Morrow harbored resentment from her past employment. The violent nature of her literary works is also under examination by authorities.
Morrow is currently being held at the Broadwater County Detention Center on a $1 million bond. She is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on August 11.
