Susan Barksdale And Blane Barksdale Plead Not Guilty To Murder

TUCSON, AZ – A week and a half after their Sept. 11 capture ending a 17-day manhunt, former Tucson fugitives Susan Barksdale and husband Blane Barksdale appeared at their Pima County Superior Court arraignments Thursday via video conference from jail. Both entered a plea of not guilty to first-degree murder charges in connection with the April murder of 72-year-old veteran and Tucson resident Frank Bligh, an old friend of Susan Barksdale’s whose body was never found.

The Barksdales also both face charges of first-degree burglary, abandonment and concealment of a dead body, trafficking in stolen property and theft of means of transportation. Blane Barksdale additionally faces charges of arson, criminal damage exceeding $10K and a weapons possession charge, according to court records.

KGUN reported that near Thursday’s arraignment’s conclusion, a woman stood up and said she was Susan Barksdale’s daughter. Defendants cannot see the court’s audience by video, so Susan Barksdale’s daughter requested that Judge Lee Ann Roads would share with Susan Barksdale the message that her daughter loved her. Roads fulfilled the request, and Susan Barksdale responded, “Thank you so much. I love her.” The judge then repeated the message to Susan Barksdale’s daughter, saying, “She heard you say that and I want to let you know that she says she loves you back.”

It might be a long time until Susan Barksdale's daughter can see her mother unimpeded by metal bars, however. The Barksdales' bail is currently set at $1 million, according to news reports. The Barksdales will next appear in court Oct. 21. In the meantime, reports from ABC15 indicate that authorities are still investigating those who aided the couple in and after their Aug. 26 escape from custody during extradition from Henrietta, New York to Pima County.

That evening, the couple overpowered their transit drivers near Blanding, Utah after Susan Barksdale faked an intestinal medical emergency and the unarmed drivers opened the vehicle’s passenger compartment to check on her. The Barksdales then bound their two drivers with shoelaces and put them in the back of the vehicle with another prisoner. Next, the Barksdales drove the prison vehicle and a friend’s borrowed red GMC Sierra pickup truck about 40 miles to the St. John’s, Ariz. area, where the couple ditched the prison van and took off together in the pickup.

Susan Barksdale and Blane Barksdale were on the run ever since that night, leading authorities on a two-and-a-half-week chase and motivating the U.S. Marshals Service to offer a $20K reward for the couple and a $5K reward for the pickup. As the manhunt continued, Blane Barksdale was added to the U.S. Marshals Service’s 15 most wanted fugitives list, raising the bounty for him from $10K to $25K.

The manhunt came to a close after U.S. Marshals received a tip Sept. 11 that the Barksdales were at a Punkin Center, Gila County, Ariz. residence, about 90 miles northeast of Phoenix. There, U.S. Marshals and 50 law enforcement officers surrounded the residence and peacefully captured Susan Barksdale, who came out of the house in tears following the residence’s owner. After several minutes, Blane Barksdale emerged from the residence, seeming cooperative at first, then flipping off and yelling profanities at officers. Blane Barksdale had to be tased and taken down with a “big bang” round in the leg so that authorities could arrest him, but he was not seriously injured, according to U.S. Marshals.

The couple's alleged victim, Frank Bligh, was last seen at a Tucson bar in April about a week before his home went up in flames. The Barksdales’ nephew Brent Mallard recently pleaded guilty to arson charges in connection with the incident. Though Bligh’s body hasn’t yet been located, evidence found in Bligh’s vehicle indicated he was likely dead, the Associated Press reported previously.

Federal charges against the couple were dismissed by a judge Sept. 12 in a Tucson federal court.