Hearts Broken Over LaPrairie Repo Murder

Brother/Coworker Dealing with Loss and Regret

South El Monte, CA – December 15, 2023 – All of the staff at Nation’s Recovery Services, Inc. are emotionally devastated by the December 12^th repossession related murder of 46-year-old Blaine LaPrairie. But no one is suffering worse than his brother Ryan who also worked with him. Compounding his loss is his regret that he didn’t take that assignment that fatal night.

Hearts Broken Over LaPrairie Repo Murder — Scene of Blaine’s murder – Photo by CALR – Click to enlarge

Blaine is described as a big-hearted, kind and thoughtful man. Ryan LaPrairie, Blaine’s older brother said; “He was a very sweet soul and he would do anything for you.”

But all of that was not enough to save him from the dangers of the profession that night at the Jasmine Garden Apartment complex in Compton where he was murdered over the repossession of a Honda. A stupid car.

Although both Ryan and Blaine were veterans of the job, they were both very aware of the dangers surrounding being a repossession agent.

In a tearful interview with KTLA, Ryan discussed how he and Blaine “…talked about this all the time,” he said.” This was one of the fears he had, to die the way he actually died.”

Blaine’s older brother and coworker, Ryan LaPrairie

According to Ryan, he and Blaine “worked together side by side for 17 years, in different tow trucks, but we worked the same hours at the same time.”

Ryan reported that the night that Blaine was killed, he had traveled to Orange County for a repossession assignment while Blaine headed to Compton in South L.A.

Ryan said that he now lives with guilt over not taking the South L.A. assignment that Blaine was killed on that night.

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Ryan said tearfully in the interview. “I really can’t. And I don’t know what I’m going to do about it. I don’t know how I’m going to get by. I go to sleep crying and I wake up and realize what’s happening and I go and cry again.”

Hearts Broken Over LaPrarie Repo Murder Blaine was a black belt in jiu-jitsu and, according to reports, wore a protective vest. Unfortunately, this was not enough to save his life. He died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Ryan shared words of advice to everyone in the repossession industry that hold as true for everyone else; “If you love someone, let them know all the time because if you don’t, one day you won’t be able to do it,” he said. “And you’re going to hate yourself for it.”

Police have still not apprehended or named the suspect in Blaine’s murder.

No funeral arrangements or tow truck funeral procession have been announced yet.