Archive photo of crime scene in Utah The case of a teenage couple who killed and dumped an abandoned mine shaft culminated in a murder sentence Friday for a Utah man who prosecutors said killed the couple because he found them hanging out with his girlfriend. Jarrod Baum, 45, faces up to life in prison after jurors found him guilty of two counts of aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping and other charges for the 2017 murders following a monthly trial. Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson, 17, and Riley Powell, 18, disappeared a few days after Christmas. Their tied up and stabbed bodies were found months later in the western Utah desert, 100 feet (30 meters) below an abandoned mine shaft. Prosecutors say they died after meeting a friend of hers, Morgan Lewis, Dec. 30 at her home in Eureka, a former silver mining town. While there, her boyfriend, Baum, returned home. He was angry because he had forbidden Lewis to have male friends and had previously dated Powell. Lewis told police her boyfriend tied up Otteson and Powell, taped them in the mouth and threw them in the back of Powell’s Jeep. He then led them, along with Henderson, to the site of an abandoned mine outside the city. There, he struck and stabbed Powell before cutting off Ottenson’s neck and then threw them down. “He responded to Riley and Morgan and made her watch to see if this was the case when you violated my rules,” said prosecutor Ryan McBride, according to Fox13. The couple’s family and friends searched for months before Lewis was pulled over during an unrelated March 25 release. He eventually agreed to work with the police. Much of the prosecution’s case was based on her testimony, which was challenged by the defense. Dallas Young Lawyer Says There Was Lack of DNA Evidence Linking Murders to Baum “You can not believe (Lewis) and you can not be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said, according to KSL. Prosecutors countered that Lewis and Baum had burned and bleached important items, destroying the DNA. Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty, but Utah County Attorney David Levitt later removed it as he vowed not to pursue the death penalty anymore.
