A Utah man has been convicted of killing a couple and throwing their bodies down an abandoned mine shaft because they were spending time with his girlfriend.
Jerrod Baum, 45, faces life behind bars for the slaying of Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson, 17, and Riley Powell, 18, who went missing in December 2017.
Prosecutors said that the couple were murdered by Baum after they met up with his girlfriend, Morgan Lewis, at her home in Eureka, Utah.
A court heard that Baum flew into a rage after he came home and found the group together as he had banned Ms Lewis from having male friends over, and she had previously dated Powell.
Ms Lewis told investigators that Baum tied up Otteson and Powell, put tape over their mouths and put them in the back of Powell’s Jeep.
A jury was told that Baum drove them to an abandoned mine outside the former silver mining town, where he beat and stabbed Powell and cut Ottenson’s throat.
He then dumped their bodies into the mine shaft. The victims were found months later 100ft below ground.
“He retaliated against Riley and Morgan and made her watch so she would know this is what happens when you break my rules,” said prosecutor Ryan McBride.
The families of the victims searched for months for their loved ones but the breakthrough in the case came when Ms Lewis was pulled over in a traffic stop, and eventually agreed to cooperate with police.
Lawyers for Baum argued that there was no DNA evidence linking him to the killings, while the prosecution claimed that he had burned and bleached that evidence.
Prosecutors had originally wanted the death penalty in the case, but Utah County Attorney David Leavitt eventually took that off the table.
Baum, 45, was convicted of two counts of aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping and other counts after the month-long trial.
