MOAB, Utah (ABC4) – It has been nearly three months since Cindy Sue Hunter found the bodies of her friends, Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner, at a campsite near Moab, Utah. Despite the ongoing investigation by local and federal officials, questions remain.
Schulte and Turner were last seen on the night of Friday, August 13, at a bar in Moab. Days later, Schulte and Turner were found dead at a campsite near Moab. In early September, a warrant detailing what officers found when they arrived at the campsite six days later offered new insight into the case. Among the new details were how Schulte and Turner were found in a nearby creek, with multiple gunshot wounds.
“I think they thought they were safe,” Hunter tells ABC4 affiliate NewsNation. “They knew they needed to move. They weren’t comfortable, even though they made the offhanded comment that if they were murdered, it was him. I don’t think they ever thought that was going to happen or I don’t think they would’ve went back up there.”
Later that month, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office determined Brian Laundrie – the boyfriend of Gabby Petito – was not connected to the double homicide, despite many believing there may be a connection. A private investigator recently said he couldn’t rule out the connection. Schulte and Turner had mentioned to Schulte’s father that a ‘creeper dude’ had caused them to move their camp before their deaths.
Both the double homicide of Schulte and Turner, and the traffic stop of Laundrie and Petito by Moab Police, have left the community uneasy. While Moab Police are not involved in the double homicide investigation, Assistant Police Chief Braydon Palmer tells ABC4 affiliate NewsNation residents remain on edge.
“I think it’s safe to say that the community is concerned,” he says. Hunter, who spoke with ABC4 shortly after finding the bodies, tells NewsNation she is frustrated more information has not yet been released.
“We know nothing,” Hunter said. “They told us Brian Laundrie is not involved. They’ve told us that we’re safe. But they don’t tell us why. None of us feel safe.”
In October, authorities released an affidavit for a search warrant related to the case. The affidavit, obtained by ABC4, was signed on September 20 and executed on the same day. In it, investigators request a “tower dump” from a cell tower at Jimmy Keen Flats, not far from the campsite of Schulte and Turner, from 9 p.m. on August 13 through 9 a.m. on Sunday, August 15. Additionally, the affidavit states this could be limited to “those phones that are only within two miles of the crime scene.”
According to investigators, a single Samsung cellphone was found at the crime scene and is currently considered evidence. It is unclear who the phone belongs to.
The affidavit goes on to state that the information is “evidence of the crime or crimes of Murder, conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence, sexual assault, desecration of a corpse, rape.” It is currently unclear what, if anything, was found when the search warrant was executed after being signed by a judge.
Currently, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office, the Utah State Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI are working on the case.
Multiple rewards are being offered for information in the double homicide investigation. Authorities ask that you do not leave pertinent tips on social media. If you have information to assist in this case, you are encouraged to call Grand County Sheriff’s Office (435) 259-8115. If you do not get an answer, leave a detailed message and an investigator will call you back.
