A 31-year-old Arizona man was arrested this week for the apparently random murders of two teens who had been camping at Mount Ord in May.
Thomas Brown, 31, faces charges for the shooting deaths of 17-year-old Evan Clark and 18-year-old Pandora Kjolsrud, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office reported.
According to The Arizona Republic, the teenagers were discovered dead from gunshot wounds on May 25. Investigators found shell casings and blood on various items, including gloves and a pillowcase located inside Clark’s SUV.
The sheriff’s office reported that Brown posted on his Facebook page the day of the murders, mentioning he’d been camping at Mount Ord and regretted staying an extra night because of a “band of random adults playing music and camping next to me.”
Court records reveal that Brown contacted authorities post-murders, claiming he was in the area and possessed a drone video he could provide. He reported that he saw the teens and their vehicle at a campsite near the top of Mount Ord and that although he looked through a tote near the vehicle, he didn’t take anything nor had any “physical contact” with them.
As the case progressed, detectives secured a warrant for Brown’s DNA, and on August 4, results showed his DNA matched the DNA inside the gloves. Kjolsrud’s blood was found on the gloves’ exterior.
“What a senseless, violent act,” Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said. “The murder of two young teenagers while out camping.”
At Brown’s initial court appearance, prosecutors revealed that the teenagers were shot multiple times, and their bodies were moved into nearby brush to hide them.
According to the Arizona Republic, a group of a five campers told police they had encountered Brown in the area and that he was “strange.”
Brown said he’d been in the area with his wife since May 23, but that his wife left on May 25. He stayed another day.
Brown has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and was ordered held on a $2 million bond.
