The Mother Road's Darkest Night: The 1967 Budville Murders - Route 66's Unsolved Double Homicide

Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

This article examines the unsolved 1967 double homicide at the Budville Trading Post along Route 66 in New Mexico. The murders of H.N. "Bud" Rice and Blanche Brown remain one of the most controversial cold cases on the Mother Road.

November 18, 1967. A Saturday evening on the old Mother Road. By 8 p.m., the normally peaceful and tranquil Route 66 community became a gruesome murder scene with two dead. 

Timeline of Key Events (1967-1974)

• November 18, 1967 (Sat, ~7:30–8:00 p.m.): Gunman arrives at Budville Trading Post; H.N. “Bud” Rice (51) and Blanche Brown (82) are shot and killed; Flossie Rice is robbed and tied up/restrained.
• November 19, 1967: Roadblocks and manhunt intensify across central and western New Mexico.
• November 19, 1967: Larry E. Bunten was arrested at a roadblock east of Grants, having matched the description of the wanted suspect; later was identified by Flossie Rice during a late-night identification while she was sedated.
• Late November 1967: Investigators receive forensic results indicating fingerprints do not match Bunten.
• December 5, 1967: Charges against Bunten dismissed; he is released after 18 days jailed.
• August 17, 1968: Billy Ray White captured in Wood River, Illinois; previously added to FBI Ten Most Wanted list.
• March, 1969: White tried and ultimately acquitted in the Budville murder cases; later extradited to Louisiana on separate charges
• 1971: Phillip Atkinson shot and killed outside the trading post; Max Atkinson wounded.
• June 7, 1973: Max Atkinson killed in a brawl at the Budville Trading Post.
• June 8, 1974: Billy Ray White dies in prison; death ruled a suicide; alleged confession made to his cellmate remains disputed
• 1979: Budville Trading Post closes
• 2006: Attempts made by new owners to reopen the Budville Trading Post began but ultimately were shelved for unknown reasons.

Budville: A One-Man Empire on Route 66

Forty-six miles west of Albuquerque and twenty-four miles east of Grants lies the town of Budville. Positioned at a near-perfect interval on Route 66, it functioned as the kind of strategic stop that defined the Mother Road era.

Howard Neal "Bud" Rice (H.N. Bud Rice) founded the town in 1928, just two years after the Mother Road's official designation. He and his wife, Aurora "Flossie" Rice, oversaw the Budville Trading Company over the next four decades. He built it into something remarkable: a full-service commercial plaza where travelers could stop and get gas, groceries, repairs, or even procure a cabin for the night. They even could register a car with the state there if they wanted, offering considerable convenience for Mother Road wanderers.

Rice had assembled all of the infrastructure of an entire small town under his own roof. That kind of dominance defined the early Route 66 era. The road was opportunity and the men who moved fastest claimed that opportunity.

However, that unique infrastructure and convenience made the Budville Trading Company and ultimately, Rice a target. On November 18, 1967, Rice and an employee were found shot to death in a gruesome double homicide.

Bud Rice: Provider, Enforcer and Paradox

Bud Rice (d. 1967) was not a simple man to like or dislike. In Central New Mexico, he was a polarizing figure, loved by some and despised by others. Rice was one of the most influential and controversial figures in Central New Mexico during the mid-20th century, building his reputation as a man of contradictions.

To the Acoma and Laguna communities such as Paraje and San Fidel, he was a genuine benefactor: distributing shoes, clothing and supplies to families who needed them. To out-of-state motorists; however, he was something else entirely: a Justice of the Peace who was known for aggressively enforcing traffic laws along his stretch of Route 66 and styled himself "The Law West of the Rio Puerco." He funneled highway fines into local coffers and charged steep rates to out-of-state travelers at his garage, which was the only mechanic shop nearby. His tow trucks held a monopoly on the 38-mile stretch of highway between the Rio Puerco and Grants.

That duality mattered. When he was murdered, community cooperation with investigators would prove complicated. Loyalty in small towns is earned close to home.

Blanche Brown: The Moral Weight of 82 Years

The second victim that night was 82 year-old Miss Blanche Brown, a retired schoolteacher and longtime part-time store clerk at the trading post. Newspapers reduced her to the word “elderly,” but in the communities she served, she was an institution. 

In rural New Mexico, schoolteachers were more than educators. They were civic anchors, steady hands in towns where everyone knew your name and your grandparents’ story. Her murder did not just take a life. It struck at the foundation of the community itself, leaving a wound that ran deeper than headlines could ever capture.

Saturday Night: November 18, 1967

Between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., a young man arrived at the trading post in a light-colored sedan to buy gas and cigarettes. Witnesses described the suspect's vehicle  vaguely as being white with green or turquoise accent coloring.

The Albuquerque Tribune's account, which featured an interview with Bud's wife, Flossie Rice, conducted at her Budville home the day after the murders, reconstructs it with chilling simplicity. Flossie was in the bathroom when she heard shots. She came out of the bathroom and suddenly, she was face-to-face with a young man. He forced her to empty the cash register, while also stripping her of her jewelry and proceeding to secure her by gagging and tying her to a chair before leaving.

Five shots had already been fired while she was in the bathroom. Three had struck Bud Rice, with the other two hitting Blanche Brown.

Both died on the trading post floor.

The Tribune reported the cash taken being valued at roughly $250. Meanwhile, the Albuquerque Journal reported the amount being in the range of $150 to $450, with a collection of rare coins also reportedly having been stolen.

Nettie Buckley, the Rices' housekeeper and neighbor, was in the bathroom when she heard the shots and hid. Eventually, after the gunman fled, she freed Flossie. Her survival helped to provide a description of the suspect and establish the critical early timeline.

The Manhunt and the Wrong Man

The Albuquerque Journal captured the immediate aftermath in a single jarring headline: "Police Manhunt Seeks Budville Killer: Officers Comb Central N.M. For Suspect." Nearly fifty officers fanned out across western New Mexico. Roadblocks covered every major route between Albuquerque and the Arizona border, including on Route 66.

The pressure produced a quick result but unfortunately, it turned out to be the wrong one. 

Larry E. Bunten, 23, a U.S. Navy first-class petty officer on leave and returning to New Mexico after completing an accounting course on the east coast, was arrested the day after the murders at a roadblock east of Grants, having matched the description of the suspected shooter. He was driving through to California and had been visiting his wife's family on the Acoma Reservation.

Bunten matched the suspect's height, build and age. His car also matched witnesses' description. Even his clothing: black trousers, black shirt, black jacket and jodhpur boots were nearly identical to what witnesses recalled the shooter was wearing. The jodhpur boots specifically were quite unusual, making it an odd and unlikely coincidence that two men would have these unique boots. 

The Albuquerque Tribune reported his arraignment on murder charges in connection with the double slaying. At a midnight identification held at the trading post, Flossie Rice, who was heavily sedated and recovering from the shock of the crime, identified Bunten as her husband's killer.

He was innocent.

Bunten had an airtight alibi: home movie footage showed him having a pillow fight with his children at a duplex apartment in Albuquerque, timestamped at 7:30 p.m. -  the exact moment the killer entered the trading post sixty miles away.

Witnesses beyond his inner circle backed up his alibi. Neighbors at the duplex recalled seeing him unload his luggage and distinctly remembered his car, thanks to its recognizable array of colorful tourist stickers.

Finally, his fingerprints didn't match those at the scene, and he wasn't carrying a weapon when picked up. Even with all of this information, he still spent 18 days in jail and was facing the death penalty by way of the gas chamber before District Attorney Alexander Sceresse moved to dismiss charges on December 5, 1967.

Judge Tackett and the Paradox of Secrecy

Paul Tackett was the District Judge overseeing the case. 

In order to prevent pre-trial publicity and tainting of the jury, Tackett imposed a strict secrecy ban on the case. Law enforcement was prohibited from releasing information about the suspect Bunten's character, alibi or forensic results, including ballistics, lie detector tests and fingerprint analysis.

While the intent was fairness, the result ended up being the opposite. The press was allowed to report on the suspect's identification, while being barred from reporting on the exculpatory evidence. This quickly led to the public assuming his guilt without knowing all of the facts - something that sounds similar in modern day journalism.

Had the Albuquerque Tribune reported Bunten's alibi, and the wealth of evidence supporting it, Bunten would have most likely been freed within 48 hours. Bunten was protected by secrecy rules that concealed innocence more effectively than guilt. Reporters didn't know Bunten had even offered an alibi

Ten days after Bunten's arrest, the FBI lab results came back that the prints picked up at the Budville Trading Post did not match Bunten's fingerprints. On December 5, laboratory studies of other evidence were completed with negative results. That same day, the newspapers got wind of his alibi and reported it just prior to Bunten being brought to court for a preliminary hearing. On motion of the district attorney, Judge Tackett dismissed the murder charges.

Billy Ray White: The Prime Suspect

Investigators quickly pivoted to Billy Ray White, a 26-year old career criminal with prior robbery and attempted murder charges in Louisiana.

White had allegedly purchased inside information for a "set-up" on the Budville Trading Post from a source within the Albuquerque underworld, according to the Quill, a national journalism trade publication. The working theory was that Bud Rice kept considerable cash hidden on the premises. He made the 60-mile drive from the city to rob the establishment.

However, due to the Budville Trading Post not being visible from the highway, it was theorized that White drove from Albuquerque initially on Friday evening (the night before the murders) but he couldn't locate the trading post. He then returned to Albuquerque and got better directions and then returned to Budville the following afternoon.

During plea negotiations, three other felons implicated White. This resulted in White being added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. He was soon thereafter captured (on August 17, 1968) in Wood River, Illinois (a town on the border with Missouri, just outside of St. Louis, MO)

At the trial, the physical evidence was thin. Flossie Rice identified White in court, but her credibility as a witness was questioned with her earlier misidentification of Bunten. White's defense capitalized on both the evidentiary gaps and his composed courtroom demeanor.

White was acquitted. He was never convicted in connection with the Budville murders.

Upon the conclusion of the trial, White was extradited to Louisiana on prior charges. where he was convicted and sentenced to ten years. On June 8, 1974, White died in prison, with his death being officially ruled as a suicide. A fellow inmate later claimed White had confessed to the Budville killings before his death although this has been disputed.

No forensic evidence ever confirmed it.

The case remains officially unsolved.

"Bloodville": The Years That Followed

Before long, Budville took on the nickname "Bloodville," adding a new layer to the legends of the Mother Road.

As for Flossie Rice, she remarried.

Max Atkinson, her second husband, had a violent history of his own. In the immediate aftermath of White's acquittal, reports from the trial indicate that tensions ran high in the courtroom. According to NewMexicoGhostTowns.net, Atkinson attacked White with a knife in court, only to be stopped by Bud's son-in-law.

In 1971, Max's brother Phillip was shot and killed directly in front of the trading post. Max was also wounded in the same incident, further adding to Budville's nickname, Bloodville. No arrests were made in this incident.

Two years later, on June 7, 1973, Max Atkinson was killed in a brawl, a mere three feet from the spot where Bud Rice died six years earlier. He was 33 at the time of his death.

By the early 1970s, Interstate 40 had fully bypassed the old Route 66 alignment entirely. The economic artery that had sustained Budville for over four decades was severed, leading to the closure of the trading post in 1979.

As for Flossie Rice, she died in 1994. At that point, the property began to pass through several hands. A 2006 heritage revival attempt failed. 

Today, the building sits abandoned. The neon sign has faded. The gas pumps are silent and dry. All that remains is the faded "Budville Trading Co." lettering which is still faintly visible on the facade.

No plaque marks the spot where Bud Rice and Blanche Brown were killed for less than $500. No monument acknowledges what occurred on that Saturday evening in November 1967.

And yet, the site stands as one of the most photographed buildings along the New Mexico stretch of Route 66, carrying its history in silence.

Why This Story Still Matters

The Budville murders are not just a cold case curiosity. They sit at the intersection of three shifts that reshaped the American West simultaneously. 

Frontier justice gave way to formal procedure, and in that transition, an innocent man nearly was given the death penalty for a crime he didn't commit. Meanwhile, procedural protections ironically shielded his wrongful imprisonment from public scrutiny.

In many ways, these events highlight the best of and the worst of American law and justice.

Furthermore, the interstate economy killed the highway economy. The same isolation that once made Budville indispensable equally made it a target for being bypassed. Now it stands as a forgotten ghost town.

Violence compounded over time, not metaphorically, but literally, in the same building, on the same floor.

Route 66 nostalgia usually focuses on the glitzy neon and the kitschy diners. Budville is the part of the story that doesn't fit the postcard. It is the Mother Road without the romance, and that may be the most honest representation of Route 66.

This was not just a crime story. It was a Mother Road story.

How to Visit Budville Today

Budville sits on a quiet, windswept stretch of the old Mother Road at the fork of the Cubero Cutoff, near the intersection of the Cubero Loop and historic U.S. Route 66. It is accessible via Exit 104 off Interstate 40.

The abandoned Budville Trading Post still stands, its weathered façade and fading signage serving as silent witnesses to both prosperity and violence.

In 2006, under the ownership of Lucy Peterson, efforts were made to reopen the property as a heritage site, but the attempt ultimately stalled. As of this writing, ownership status remains unclear.

Sources:

• Albuquerque Journal: "Police Manhunt Seeks Budville Killer" November 20, 1967 - Patrick Lamb
• Albuquerque Tribune: "Suspect in Budville Slayings Held" November 20, 1967 - Mary Lou Jennings
  
• Albuquerque Tribune: "Murder Charges Against Sailor Thrown Out; Wife Worries About Husband's Reputation" December 6, 1967 - Mary Kay Todesco
• The Quill: "The Budville Murders: Reardon Rules in Action" - October, 1968 - Vol 56., No. 10 - Tony Hillerman
• Associated Press: "Budville Trading Post Operator Shot" - June 8, 1973 - AP Staff
• FBI Ten Most Wanted archive page for Billy Ray White
• Encyclopedia Britannica - Route 66

Where records conflict or remain incomplete, this account relies on contemporaneous newspaper archives and publicly available court reporting. Additional background was sourced via Route 66 blogs, along with ghost town archives.