GRAND COUNTY, Utah — Months after a newlywed couple was found shot dead at a Utah campsite, officials were able to identify the suspect on Wednesday, saying that he killed himself.
In a Facebook post, Grand County Sheriff’s Office identified Adam Pinkusiewicz as the suspect in the murder of Crystal Beck Turner, 38, and Kylen Schulte, 24. GCSO said that Pinkusiewicz was a person of interest along with a few other people early on in the investigation. He was a former McDonald’s employee at the same location as one of the victims, Turner, in Moab, Utah. It’s not known at this time whether the two had ever worked together.
“[GCSO] recently received information that prior to committing suicide, Adam Pinkusiewicz told another party that he had killed two women in Utah and provided specific details that were only known to investigators,” said GCSO in a press release.
At first, GCSO could not locate him for interviews but during their investigation, they were able to gather that he was in the area during the same time as the murders. Right after, GCSO says, they learned he left Utah right after the murders and killed himself.
Turner and Schulte were newlyweds at the time of their murder. According to KTVX, the couple was found on August 18, 2021, with multiple gunshot wounds.
The Associated Press says the couple was in the area because they were camping in the South Mesa area of the La Sal Mountains.
GCSO says they recently found his vehicle, a 2007 Yaris. According to the AP, the case remains open as investigators process new evidence from the car that was found recently. GCSO says if you have any information, to call them at 435-259-8115.
The area where the couple was found was believed to be near where Gabby Petito was last seen. It was later proved that the case was unrelated. Petito was reported missing on September 11, about a month after the couple was found. Her family reported her missing weeks after they last heard from her at the end of August, while she was visiting Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, according to the AP. The reason why it was originally believed that the deaths were related to Petito’s case was partly due to a witness report of a domestic incident involving Petito and Laundrie outside the store Shulte worked at, Moonflower Community Cooperative in Moab, on Aug. 12, according to KTVX.