4 months after two teens were found dead near their Arizona camp site, a man has been arrested — one who posted his frustrations with his stay in the same area that weekend and about the deaths to Facebook, before allegedly calling police with his own tip and drone footage.
A man has been arrested in the deaths of two teenagers who were killed over Memorial Day weekend while camping in Arizona.
On Thursday, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office announced that 31-year-old Thomas Brown was apprehended as a suspect in the murders of 17-year-old Evan Clark and 18-year-old Pandora Kjolsrud.
He was booked on two counts of murder in the first degree and is being held on $2 million bond.
After he was arrested, the sheriff posted footage of his perp walk and his booking photo to YouTube.
On Friday, Captain David Lee of the MCSO’s Major Crimes Division held a press conference in which he revealed more details about Brown’s arrest, more than four months after the two teens died from gunshot wounds.
The duo left for a Memorial Day weekend camping trip at the Tonto National Forest, but never returned on the 26th, the day they told family they’d be back. Clark’s vehicle was first found in the area of Mount Ord, which is located between the cities of Mesa and Payson, on Tuesday, May 27 after authorities receveid a call from Pandora’s concerned mother, said Lee.
Authorities then discovered a campsite with evidence of “something being dragged away” from the area. Nearby, they found the bodies.
Lee said they found “many potential items of evidence” and followed up on numerous tips, one of which “revealed that there was a male subject identified as Thomas Brown, who advised he had been camping on Mount Ord on that particular day.” Per Lee, “detectives also received a tip from another group of campers … that indicated the campers, while they were there, encountered an individual they perceived as acting very strangely.”
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Speaking with authorities, per Lee, Brown said he had been camping on Mount Ord from May 23-26th, adding that his wife was with him until the morning of the 25th, before he left solo the next day. “He mentioned that he flew a drone around the mountain and that’s one of the reasons we contacted him,” added Lee, who said Brown also told them he had “encountered a male and female” who matched the victims’ descriptions. They also allegedly asked him about his travels on the mountain and interactions with some of the evidence they had collected.
Lee said evidence “corroborated” Brown’s involvement in the murders, without getting into too many details. A booking document, however, claimed Brown’s DNA was found inside the victims’ vehicle, as well as inside two gloves found near the vehicle which had the DNA of both victims and the blood of one on it. Brown allegedly told police he wasn’t inside the vehicle. Personal items belonging to both victims were also found on the pathway Brown admitted to hiking on, per the docs.
As his statements didn’t line up with the evidence, he was arrested. Lee said authorities believe there was no prior connection between the suspect and victims, saying they appeared to be “complete strangers.”
Lee also said his department was aware of posts Brown had shared to Facebook about the situation, but didn’t elaborate further. A Facebook page appearing to belong to Brown shows that, on the evening of the May 25th — the night after his wife left — he posted, “I’m regretting staying one more night lol! Got a gang of rando adults playing music and camping next to me though!” The post, however, did make it seem like he had already left the camp site — as he added he picked up his dog “on the way home.”
On May 29, he also shared a news report about the deaths of the two teens to Facebook, saying he, his wife and one of their dogs were “there days before.” He added, “Terrible news, especially with the last days of school just prior.”
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During the press conference Friday, Pandora’s mother also spoke.
“She was so full of life and joy and love … the darkness that she encountered on that day, when she met her killed, will not define her life,” she declared. “His darkness will never overcome her light.”
“I have prayed every day that her killer would be brought to justice … she deserved justice … I have full faith in our judicial system … and find the perpetrator guilty of the violent murders he committed against two innocent teenagers,” she added. “My daughter’s life matters and I look forward to the day the perpetrator is convicted of his crimes.”
Per FOX 10, during a hearing on Thursday, Brown’s attorney said, “He doesn’t deny in the probable cause statement that he had contact with both of the alleged victims. He was there camping. He was there hiking, but importantly, there is little reference to where Mr. Brown’s DNA was not found.”
Another hearing has been set for October 8.
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