A suspect has been arrested some four months after a pair of teens were killed during a Memorial Day weekend camping trip at an Arizona national forest, authorities announced.
Thomas Brown, 31, was apprehended by law enforcement on Thursday on murder charges stemming from the deaths of 18-year-old Pandora Kjolsrud and 17-year-old Evan Clark, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
Maricopa County Sheriff
Thomas Brown, 31, is pictured in custody. (Maricopa County Sheriff)
Both teens were found fatally shot on May 27, near Mount Ord, in a remote corner of Tonto National Forest.
The two teens were students at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, according to a letter the principal wrote to parents at the time.
“What a senseless violent act, the murder of two young teenagers who went out camping,” Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said during a press conference on Friday.
Authorities have provided few other details about what triggered Brown’s arrest. According to local NBC affiliate 12News, his DNA was allegedly found in one of the victims’ SUV, as well as inside a pair of gloves with blood on the outside.
Brown has since appeared in front of a judge and was charged with two counts of murder in the first degree. He’s being held on a $2 million bond and is due back in court again Wednesday.
