Kriti Mehrotra
The December 29, 2016, homicide of Donald “Don” Bryan Fluitt inside the garage of his Albuquerque, New Mexico, garage left the entire community in a state of fear and shock. The 54-year-old single father had lost one of his sisters to breast cancer just 18 days prior and had returned home from her funeral and quality family time just that same evening. Therefore, the way he passed away was heartbreaking for more reasons than one, as explored in Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Murder Tapes: Albuquerque Ambush.’
Don Fluitt Was Viciously Attacked Inside His Home
Donald “Don” Bryan Fluitt came into this world on September 15, 1962, into a loving, supportive home in Los Angeles, California, helmed by Sharron Fluitt and James Fluitt. He was reportedly one of four children, with his siblings being Dennis Fluitt, Jeniece Fluitt, and Jenelle Fluitt, with whom he always shared a rather respectable and understanding relationship. They all were busy with their own lives by the time the mid-2010s had rolled around, but there was such love between them that they were ready to stand by one another whenever the need arose.
Coming to Don’s individual standing, he was not only a devout Christian but also a generous individual who spent most of his time in the service of others because he knew that was his life’s purpose. So, he served as a firefighter for most of his adult life before retiring, only to then take up odd jobs to make ends meet and provide for the daughter he shared with his ex-wife, Siena Fluitt. He was a devoted father in every sense of the term, giving his then-10-year-old Siena all the attention she could ask for and then sharing the tradition of feeding people experiencing homelessness for “Spaghetti Sunday.”
However, everything turned upside down on December 29, 2016, as 911 responded to a call along Plateau Place Northwest at around 3:25 pm, only to find Don dead in his garage. According to police records, he was lying in a pool of blood right between his car and the wall of his home, but the garage door was closed, and there seemed to have been no sign of a forced entry. His autopsy report later revealed he had died from severe blunt force trauma to the head, multiple stab wounds across his body, and a slashed throat that went from ear to ear.
Don Fluitt’s Killer Was Identified With the Help of DNA and Forensic Evidence
When investigations into Don’s case began, officials theorized early on that it was an intentional homicide rather than an accidental one during an argument or a robbery gone wrong. That’s because his injuries were so severe that it seemed personal, and all his belongings were still in his home. From his bicycle Christmas gift to his daughter to his televisions, his cell phone, and his wallet, they were all safe inside. However, what was also present at the scene were blood traces/stains inside his home, an open kitchen drawer, and prints that made it evident there was a struggle between the victim and his killer. Forensic analysis also indicated the killer had tried to clean the scene, as evidenced by an empty bottle of bleach and the towels in the washer. Moreover, they washed their hands in the sink.
Among the first things officials did was canvass the area and speak to those closest to Don, through which it came to light that the next-door neighbor had a security camera that captured part of his driveway. In the footage, Don could be seen leaving his home at 7:37 pm to drive to his second ex-wife Christine White’s place, to drop off their daughter at 7:45 as part of their custody arrangement. However, at 7:41, a male wearing a hoodie was also captured walking along the curb outside his home, then setting the garbage can on its side before walking toward the house. Don returned a few minutes later, parked his car, walked outside to pick up the can, and then returned home before closing the garage door. However, the sensor tripped while it was going down, resulting in a few flashes before it finally closed.
While investigators combed through this footage, they also interviewed Don’s second ex-wife, daughter, and the ex-wife’s new husband, Terry White. They revealed that, while there was tension between Don and Terry at first and an active custody dispute between them, the two men now mostly avoided one another. Terry also asserted that he had gone to a fast-food place that night for a meal before taking a nap in his car and checking in to work at 11. Other people did suspect Don’s landlord, Robbie Ruiz, and his brother, Dennis Fluitt, owing to some payment issues and a few years of distance, respectively, but their alibis seemed to stand. However, Terry’s alibi did not. So, when officials interviewed him again, and his story changed, they grew even more suspicious. Ultimately, DNA results and forensic analysis revealed him to be the killer.
While Terry White is Currently Incarcerated, Christine White Has Since Relocated and Prefers to Lead a Quite Life
It was on March 31 that an arrest warrant for Terry White was issued based on his DNA connecting him to the homicide of Don Fluitt. Investigators came to believe that Terry attacked and killed him because he wanted full custody of his daughter so that they could be a family. According to their hypothesis, Terry slid into Don’s home and hid under the car when Don stepped outside to correct his trash can, knowing he would soon return to the garage to smoke. As per reports, Dan was a smoker but refused to smoke anywhere other than the garage when home because he knew Siena didn’t like the smell.
So, as per reports, Terry lay in wait, and when Don appeared, he hit him with a tire thumper, went inside to grab a steak knife, and then returned to stab him before ultimately slashing his throat. When the arrest warrant was to be executed, it came to light that Terry had vanished, but he was thankfully found in Arizona just a day later, on April 1, 2017. He refused to speak to officials at the time, but he allegedly confessed to his crimes to an inmate at the county jail, who approached the authorities to tell them about it in early June. Terry thus stood trial for the charge against him in 2018, during which he maintained his innocence at every step of the way.
However, after 3 days of testimonies, the jury convicted him of murder. Terry was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison plus an additional 12 years on August 16, 2018, but before this was ordered, he once again asserted his innocence and refused to apologize to the Fluitt family “for a crime he did not commit.” He did try to appeal his case later on, but they were denied. So, today, he remains incarcerated in a New Mexico state prison. As for Christine, following the entire ordeal, she and Siena moved away from Albuquerque for good. Christine was never charged in connection with the offense.
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