A man suspected of stabbing another man to death in New Mexico has been caught in Texas County, Mo.

Texas County Sheriff Carl Watson says Andrew R. Newman roamed the county without identification for four days because he wanted to hide. It wasn't until he spent moments alone with two teens that his true identity was revealed.

Watson says Newman hitchhiked a train to Texas County. Police noticed what they called his strange behavior -- but a homeowner is the one who brought him in.

In the rolling green hills near Houston, Mo., murder suspect Andrew Newman stuck out like a sore thumb.

"My youngest daughter said to her husband, 'What in the world is this guy doing walking down the highway,’" neighbor Peggy McCoy says. “There isn’t a broke down car or anything. It was strange.”

Authorities don’t know why Newman chose rural Route Z or a Houston home with a 15-year-old boy and 17-year-old girl alone inside.

"He knocked on the door and asked for water and food," Watson says, adding that Newman tried to hitchhike around Texas County. "We do know we checked on him at least three times, he gave false information each time," Watson says.

Each time Cabool and Texas County officers let Newman go. "We really didn't have any reason to suspect he was wanted,” Watson says. “He didn't have an I.D.; he only had $4 in his pocket."

The two teens were also suspicious of Newman. They called an adult who fooled the man into thinking he was taking him to the next town.

Instead the man brought Newman to the Texas County jail. The man told Newman he had to talk to someone and Newman followed him inside. "Two deputies interviewed him and he gave false information again," Watson says.

The deputies also fingerprinted him. A live-scan fingerprint method was used. The machine is hooked up to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System or AFIS. The fingerprints go through the Missouri State Highway Patrol criminal records and then on to the F.B.I. "About two hours after fingerprinting, the Albuquerque Police Department called,” Watson says. “They say his fingerprints match a person wanted for murder." Albuquerque police say Newman fatally stabbed a man in the torso in a New Mexico apartment.

Before the live-scan fingerprint method, Watson says it would take 4 to 6 weeks to see if someone was wanted by another agency. The sheriff says with 24-hour limits on how long a jail can hold a suspect, many would be long gone.

The days of unlocked doors may be gone for neighbors who still can't believe two teens were alone with a murder suspect. "They are lucky to be alive," McCoy says.

Once inside the Texas County Jail, the sheriff says Newman admitted to killing a woman in New Mexico -- though Watson says authorities in that case say they have already made an arrest.

Newman is fighting extradition. Texas County officials are seeking a governor's warrant to return him. The Texas County prosecutor says governor’s warrants typically take four to six weeks to be processed. Newman was born in California. Police say he has a criminal record in at least six states.