Man suspected of killing Utah couple showed signs of anger, racism and paranoia, police say

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MOAB, Utah (KSL.com) A man who police say constantly thought about killing people and showed signs of extreme racism in addition to paranoia is the person responsible for the murders of two Moab women in 2021.

That’s the conclusion of the Grand County Sheriff’s Office, which announced in May that Adam Tomer Pinkusiewicz, 45, was their prime suspect in the August 2021 shooting deaths of Kylen “Ky” Carrol Schulte and his wife. , Crystal Turner.

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On Thursday, the sheriff’s office held a press conference to go over a detailed timeline of events in the case and discuss the evidence gathered that points to Pinkusiewicz as the killer. Pinkusiewicz died by suicide at a motel in Waterloo, Iowa, in September 2021, just over a month after Schulte and Turner died and before police could interview him.

Just before his death, Pinkusiewicz admitted to a man, his “significant other,” that he had killed two women, said Unified Police Detective Carrie Rigby, one of the case’s co-lead investigators. The Unified Police Department worked closely with the Grand County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.

Specifically, Rigby said Pinkusiewicz’s significant other said Pinkusiewicz told him he shot two women inside a tent, even though their bodies were found in a stream. Rigby said it was important because it was information only the killer would know.

On Aug. 12, 2021, a man believed to be Pinkusiewicz pulled up next to the women’s campsite in the La Sal Mountains and settled himself “uncomfortably close” to them, Rigby said. That night, the women were lying in a hammock and spotted Pinkusiewicz “crawling around” the camp area. But there was no confrontation and the incident was not reported to police, Rigby said. The women described the man next to their campsite as having a beard and no shirt.

Schulte, 24, and Turner, 38, who recently married, lived a “van lifestyle”, camping at various locations overnight rather than having a permanent home.

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On Aug. 13, 2021, the camper next to them briefly left the area and returned with groceries, Rigby said. Investigators later confirmed that Pinkusiewicz had shopped for groceries that day. He also sent an email that day to his family members that police described as a “farewell” letter.

Later that night, the women told friends about the ‘scary camper’ and made the comment that if they didn’t show up for work they had to pick them up. But Rigby says the comment was more of a joke and neither the women nor their friends seemed overly concerned about him.

Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner. | Courtesy of Justice for Kylen and Crystal, Facebook via KSL NewsRadio

Schulte and Turner were last seen by friends on August 13, 2021, around 8:45 p.m., leaving a tavern in Moab to return to their campsite. Police believe they arrived at their campsite around 1.15am on August 14.

On Thursday, Rigby revealed that a “surveillance from a nearby area” was found which recorded the sound of gunfire and screaming at 11:48 a.m. on August 14. Police did not say where the audio was recorded. But detectives believe that was when the women were shot.

Schulte and Turner were reported missing two days later after failing to show up for work, and their bodies were found in a stream near their campsite on August 18, 2021.

Some of the main pieces of evidence collected were the slugs from the shots that killed the women. Rigby said they contained a red rubber tip, which she said was extremely unique from what she typically sees in homicide investigations.

Another key piece of evidence was surveillance photos of a taped Toyota Yaris leaving the area about an hour after the murders allegedly took place. The vehicle caught Rigby’s attention because it is not generally used by campers in this area.

Rigby said investigators had compiled a list of possible theories about who killed the women and even briefly considered the “Brian Laundrie theory”. Laundrie was responsible for Gabby Petito’s murder before he also died by suicide. The Laundrie and Petito traffic stop near Arches National Park on August 12, 2021, which was recorded on body camera video by police, drew worldwide attention.

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But Rigby said investigators believe the evidence points more to the “creepy camper”. Shortly after the murders, police learned that Pinkusiewicz, who sported a beard and worked at the same McDonald’s as Turner, had suddenly left the area without receiving his last paycheck right after the women died. Investigators also learned that Pinkusiewicz was in the La Sal Mountains and was driving a Toyota Yaris.

Rigby said Pinkusiewicz was one of many people interested in the investigation just a week or two after the women’s bodies were discovered.

Although Rigby said there was no evidence that Turner and Pinkusiewicz engaged in any type of confrontation at work or even worked the same shift, police say Pinkusiewicz got hot on the job. an argument with two managers on the night of August 8, 2021, and was asked to leave work.

After the murders, the woman’s phone became “off” until August 16, 2021. Additionally, investigators searching for data in Pinkusiewicz’s phone after his death learned that he deleted almost all photos and everything content about him living in Moab, she said. . He also deleted his Facebook app and Google history. The police were, however, able to recover notes allegedly written by Pinkusiewicz.

Rigby said they showed “extreme signs of racism”, “anger issues” and “talking about raping and killing other people and how that’s a constant thought in his mind”.

Kylen Schulte, 24, and Crystal Turner, 38 | Courtesy of Instagram via KSL.com

On August 17, 2021, police believe Pinkusiewicz was in Telluride, Colorado. Ten days later he arrived in Waterloo, Iowa. On September 18, 2021, Pinkusiewicz sent another “farewell” message to his family, and on September 24, 2021, he committed suicide.

Rigby said when detectives found Pinkusiewicz’s significant other and went to interview him, he immediately knew why they were there. He said Pinkusiewicz told him he shot and killed two women in a tent, one of them was a colleague he didn’t like because she was “overbearing”. When the significant other tried to post a story about Schulte and Turner’s deaths on his phone, he said Pinkusiewicz took the phone from him.

Police were able to recover Pinkusiewicz’s vehicle and they say his family has been cooperating with the investigation. However, much of his possessions were not saved, and Pinkusiewicz’s body was cremated. One of the items investigators were able to recover was a replica of a gun purchased by Pinkusiewicz in 2019. Rigby said the gun matches the type believed to have been used in the murders.

When asked on Thursday whether she believed Pinkusiewicz targeted the women and whether the murders were premeditated or whether he killed them after a chance encounter in the mountains, Rigby said only Pinkusiewicz knew.

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