A 31-year-old man was charged with murdering two teenagers in Arizona in what authorities called a “senseless, violent act.”
Thomas Brown, a military veteran, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the killings of Evan Clark, 17, and Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, in May when the teens were hiking in Mount Ord.
“Murder is one of the most heinous crimes that can be brought on a person and their family,” Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Capt. David Lee said at a press conference on Friday. “In a way, it’s the ultimate theft.”
Pandora’s relative notified police when she hadn’t returned from her campaign trip with friends. The teen’s last known location was Mount Ord in the Tonto National Forest.
When authorities went to look at the campsite, they found “conditions that suggested there was evidence that something had been dragged away from that camp area,” Lee said.
Officers then located the teens’ bodies on May 27. They had both been shot “multiple times,” the captain said.
Various tips about the incident poured in, including one claiming that Brown had been camping at the same time as the pair. Another group of campers camping around that time encountered an individual who was acting “very strangely,” Lee said.
When interviewing Brown, he told detectives that he and his wife went camping on Mount Ord from May 23 through May 25, but he stayed through the following morning. He also told police that he encountered two individuals whose descriptions matched those of Kjolsrud and Clark, Lee said.
After collecting evidence, police concluded that “Thomas Brown provided false and misleading information regarding his involvement,” the captain said.
According to documents, investigators discovered DNA evidence that showed the suspect had been in the teen’s SUV, despite his claiming that he never went inside the car. His DNA was also found on the victim’s bodies despite him saying he never had any physical contact with them.
In addition, a pair of gloves with Brown’s blood on them was also found close to the vehicle.
Brown was arrested at his home and booked into the Maricopa County jail on Thursday.
There’s no evidence to suggest the suspect and the victims were connected. “They were, as far as we know, complete strangers,” Lee said.
Evidence suggests Brown acted alone and poses no further danger to the community, he said.
