Follow
The authorities believe that the odious abandoned mine shaft murder might have been partly motivated by jealousy.
On Wednesday, the Utah authorities announced that they’ve discovered and arrested a person of interest in the abandoned mine shaft murder. Jerrod W. Baum, 41, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, abuse of a dead body, and kidnapping among others.
Abandoned Mine Shaft Murder Was Jealousy Related, Authorities Believe
The events that led to the arrest of Baum started to unfold on the 2nd of January when the families of 18-year-old Riley Powell and 17-year-old Brelynne Otteson filed a missing person’s report with the Utah police. According to the document, the couple was last seen alive on the 30th of December 2017, leaving for Baum’s home.
This Wednesday, following a 911 call, the authorities retrieved two bodies from an abandoned mine shaft, located 75 miles from Salt Lake City. The coroner’s office established that the bodies belong to the couple who went missing in December.
Several hours later, Baum was taken into custody and charged with murder.
During his police interview, the man confessed to killing the couple and admitted that it was a hard thing to do but had no choice.
After putting all the pieces together, the investigators discovered that Baum’s gesture was partly motivated by jealousy. The man said that he grew tired of Otteson and Powell visiting Morgan Henderson, his girlfriend.
According to Henderson’s testimony, Baum got mad at her after returning home to see her in the company of the Utah couple. Baum allegedly told her that he couldn’t stand to see her in the company of other men and boasted that he’s going to kill the couple.
Conclusion
On the 30th of December, Baum arranged for Otteson and Powell to meet at Morgan’s house. After smoking marijuana inside the house, the man allegedly assaulted the teens, tied them up and threw them in Powell’s jeep.
He then told Morgan to get in the car as they were going for a drive. Baum drove to the abandoned mine shaft in Powell’s jeep, stabbed both teens to death, and threw their bodies in the shaft.
Before dumping Powell’s jeep into the river, he told Morgan to keep quiet about what transpired that evening.
Image source: Wikipedia
