Persons of interest identified in Kylen-Crystal murder: Is Brian Laundrie involved?
Persons of interest have been identified in the double murder of a newly wed couple in Utah. Kylen Schulte, 24, and her 38-year-old wife, Crystal Turner, were found fatally shot at a campsite in the city of Moab in August last year. Before the murder, the pair had allegedly complained about a “weirdo” and “creep” who was camping near them.
The incident took place around the time of Long Island native Gabby Petito's disappearance and murder. In September, investigators had said that they were “actively looking” into possible connections between the double homicide and the disappearance of Brian Laundrie.
READ MORE
Gabby Petito would have still been ALIVE if case was handled better, suggests new probe
#WorstParentsAward: James and Jennifer Crumbley compared online to Brian Laundrie's parents
The heartbroken father of Kylen Schulte, desperate for a closure after his daughter Kylen Schulte and her wife Crystal Turner were killed, questioned if Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie played pool with the pair. As per reports, the lesbian couple was found dead on August 18 at a campsite in Utah, six days before Gabby and Brian were seen arguing outside Moonflower Co-operative, where Kylen was a cashier.
A Facebook page, 'Understanding Crime', discussed the case, noting that Kylen’s dad Sean-Paul Schulte wants to know “if it was Brian and Gabby shooting pool at the world-famous Woody's Tavern in Moab, Utah where Crystal was playing pool.” The post stated, “Sean-Paul said staff said Crystal Turner was at Woody's Tavern Moab Utah which offers beers, cocktails and bar bites, plus pool tables and live music, shooting pool with the ‘creepy man’ peaceably.”
However, the FBI has now officially ruled out Brian Laundrie as the killer. Grand County Sheriff Steven White has insisted, "Upon investigation, the FBI and Florida Investigators have determined, based on electronic transmission evidence, that neither Petito nor Laundrie were involved in this case.” Although the sheriff did not elaborate on what exactly rules out a connection, he said that rumors can be “unhelpful to the criminal investigation, if not dangerous.” He confirmed that the double murder investigation is “active and ongoing" with federal agents' help.
The sheriff's office “has persons of interest but has not yet identified a suspect." The medical examiner confirmed that Schulte and Turner were "shot multiple times", but had not been sexually assaulted.
In November last year, the Laundries' family lawyer confirmed that Brian Laundrie died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The manner of death was determined to be suicide, as per a forensic anthropologist. A gun from Chris and Roberta Laundrie's home had been missing ever since their son took off. When his parents reported him missing in September, they had turned over all of their firearms in their home to the FBI. One gun, however, appeared to be missing.
The case began drawing national interest after Brian returned home to Florida on September 1 without his girlfriend after a cross-country road trip. On October 21, the FBI confirmed that the partial skeletal remains recovered from the park a day earlier were Laundrie's after comparing his dental records.