UT - Kylen Schulte, 24, & Crystal Beck, 38, newlywed couple found dead, Grand County, 18 Aug 2021

[TTF14]

I'm suspicious of the "creepy guy" comment. Can it be verified? To whom did they say it?

Reminds me of another (unsolved) case here on WS where a "creepy guy" comment that never actually happened ended up being passed around and accepted as fact.....

 

[Shamrock1]

This is Rebecca Wight & Claudia Brenner, except both women died here. Hate crime or someone was enraged that two people were enjoying themselves and he can’t even land a date. JMO.

Murder of Rebecca Wight - Wikipedia

 

[Shamrock1]

I'm suspicious of the "creepy guy" comment. Can it be verified? To whom did they say it?

Reminds me of another (unsolved) case here on WS where a "creepy guy" comment that never actually happened ended up being passed around and accepted as fact.....

“Creepy guy” is per family. Link below - there are many other articles. There’s also the bar footage. Two young lesbians, living out of a van - in Utah - were likely very sensitive to “creepy” men IMO.

Newlywed women found dead at Utah campsite reported "creepy guy" before they were killed, family says - CBS News

 

[ReggieHammond]

I'm suspicious of the "creepy guy" comment. Can it be verified? To whom did they say it?

Reminds me of another (unsolved) case here on WS where a "creepy guy" comment that never actually happened ended up being passed around and accepted as fact.....

The term I read they used, when I first heard about the case, was "wierdo."

Regardless, someone camping near them made them feel uncomfortable enough to speak up on it.

 

[borndem]

Just now saw this thread...and just now saw this article which is informative -- at least for me, since I'm just getting here.
Forgive, please, if already posted.
What a damm shame. Just married. SMH.

Thanks for the thread, @swedeheart
-------------------------------
Missing Couple Found Dead on Utah Trail Allegedly Alerted Friends of 'Creepy Guy' at Campsite Before Vanishing
Crystal Turner, 38, and Kylen Schulte, 24, were shot multiple times
By Chris Harris
August 23, 2021 10:21 AM
The bodies of a recently married couple who were last heard from on Aug. 14 were found four days later near camping grounds in the La Sal Mountains, just outside of Moab, Utah.
Crystal Turner, 38, and Kylen Schulte, 24, had only tied the knot four months ago, according to friends and relatives, who spoke to local media, including KUTV.
Both women were shot multiple times, the Grand County Sheriff's Office confirms in a statement.
At this time, no arrests have been made and no suspects have been formally named.
Schulte and Turner embraced a nomadic lifestyle, said Bridget Calvert, Schulte's aunt. The couple lived in their van, moving from campsite to campsite, but primarily stayed in the Moab area.
-------------------------------
More here:
Missing Couple Found Dead on Utah Trail Allegedly Alerted Friends of 'Creepy Guy' at Campsite Before Vanishing

 

[SuziQ]

They have two vans. A black van that was [apparently] converted to a camper, and it seems this van was their "home" and was still parked where friends knew to look for it.

And a silver Kia van which is what they were driving on this camping trip.

Source: the first couple of posts in the thread

So has the KIA been accounted for? TIA.

 

[borndem]

Im not sure if they ever changed locations. I was under the impression they did not, but that is just an interpretation of the information in the news.

I believe one article (can’t remember which) said they were at the bar from about 6 to 9pm.

As far as the location goes, looking at that second image you posted, the friend that found them seemed to say she was heading toward sand point road (I think it was called). That’s the road that peels off to the west just north of webb hollow creek, so seemingly they were found at a pull off somewhere south of there.

It looks like there is a dirt road that runs east-west across the manti la sal (main road) with webb hollow to the east. My best guess is the camp site was along the same dirt road, but just WEST of the main road.

I could be wrong about that, the pull offs are hard to see on the map, but I am 99% sure it was a pull off somewhere along that stretch within a half mile or so (between warner lake road and sand point road), and almost as certain that they were on the west side of the main road rather than east.

Again though, this is just based on basic knowledge of that area and the information linked in this thread.

I big thanks, @dub, for the tour. A picture, along with a guide, is still worth a thousand words. A big help to me here in NC -- I've never been to Utah.
There were the two of them, but that's no match for a freakin' loaded pistol. They didn't have a chance. Did someone hear or see anything?
IMO, this will be a tuff one to solve. No witnesses (as far as we know), and an unknown-by-name person (as far as we know) whose motive was unknown other than homophobia, madness, or just plain meanness.
Hoping other hikers have seen the scary guy and know something about him. And the scary guy may not even be the one who shot those two loving women.
Still angry and grieving.

 

[borndem]

I totally agree. This is a place that an increasing number of "homeless/van-life" people were slowly aggregating.

I don't know what exactly it means to be homeless vs. van-life. I can't tell yet whether their van was at their campsite or not. Either way, I guess if they were picking up mail at a friend's house or general delivery and weren't paying rent anywhere, they were technically homeless.

Sounds like they were homeless by choice -- maybe they just wanted to be that way for a while and then fold in with the other work-a-day folks with rent/mortgage, jobs and taxes, etc. I can remember back in the 1970's (yes, I am that old!) there were lots of 20+ year-olds who were homeless by choice. No rent, no pools, no pets...

 

[dub]

I big thanks, @dub, for the tour. A picture, along with a guide, is still worth a thousand words. A big help to me here in NC -- I've never been to Utah.
There were the two of them, but that's no match for a freakin' loaded pistol. They didn't have a chance. Did someone hear or see anything?
IMO, this will be a tuff one to solve. No witnesses (as far as we know), and an unknown-by-name person (as far as we know) whose motive was unknown other than homophobia, madness, or just plain meanness.
Hoping other hikers have seen the scary guy and know something about him. And the scary guy may not even be the one who shot those two loving women.
Still angry and grieving.

For sure. I've only been there once, but it is an extremely memorable area for a number of reasons, not least because there were probably the sketchiest, most terrifying roads I've ever been on.

I can't remember if those particularly bad spots were on the Manti la Sal, Warner Lake Road, or both, but I mention it for a reason. If it was a planned murder by someone in their right mind, it would be very easy to get rid of the car and bodies off the edge of any number of huge cliffs which, sorry I know this is kind of graphic, would likely destroy everything that could possibly provide evidence of them being shot. If this was well thought out, it could have very easily been made to look like an accident.

Also I agree with you that this will be extremely tough to solve. The biggest problem there is that at any given point in the summer (and maybe year round?) the overwhelming majority of people in and around Moab are not local. Whoever did this was almost certainly out of the area within 12 hours of the murders, and probably within more like 3 hours. Unless they find DNA that matches some other crime that could have occurred in literally any other state, I think it's unfortunately unlikely to be solved.

 

[borndem]

I wonder if the girls gave their friends any information about the creeper, descriptions, vehicles? More will come forward hopefully in the upcoming weeks. Be safe out there

Welcome to Websleuths,
Fretgyrl !!​

 

[borndem]

For sure. I've only been there once, but it is an extremely memorable area for a number of reasons, not least because there were probably the sketchiest, most terrifying roads I've ever been on.

I can't remember if those particularly bad spots were on the Manti la Sal, Warner Lake Road, or both, but I mention it for a reason. If it was a planned murder by someone in their right mind, it would be very easy to get rid of the car and bodies off the edge of any number of huge cliffs which, sorry I know this is kind of graphic, would likely destroy everything that could possibly provide evidence of them being shot. If this was well thought out, it could have very easily been made to look like an accident.

Also I agree with you that this will be extremely tough to solve. The biggest problem there is that at any given point in the summer (and maybe year round?) the overwhelming majority of people in and around Moab are not local. Whoever did this was almost certainly out of the area within 12 hours of the murders, and probably within more like 3 hours. Unless they find DNA that matches some other crime that could have occurred in literally any other state, I think it's unfortunately unlikely to be solved.

bbm
Oh, my, I haven't even thought about getaway time. You nailed it. Probably not from the area; gotthehell outta there asap, and could be 500 miles away. Or merely 75 miles away. And anyone who saw the do-er, not knowing what he had done, or anyone who heard the shots, and thought it wasn't abnormal, would probably be an out-of-towner as well, and long gone. Damm.

 

[dub]

bbm
Oh, my, I haven't even thought about getaway time. You nailed it. Probably not from the area; gotthehell outta there asap, and could be 500 miles away. Or merely 75 miles away. And anyone who saw the do-er, not knowing what he had done, or anyone who heard the shots, and thought it wasn't abnormal, would probably be an out-of-towner as well, and long gone. Damm.

Yep exactly. And pretty much anyone who drove along the Manti-la-Sal that night, regardless of where they were from, probably wouldn't find gunshots abnormal. Oddly there is also quite a bit of ranching land way up that mountain--as if the roads themselves aren't gnarly enough, there are also cows all over them haha--which, although I am not a rancher, and am not from the area, makes me feel like it's the kind of place where non-nefarious gunfire is perfectly normal.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

So has the KIA been accounted for? TIA.

Just going off my memory of articles posted in this thread, yes, I believe both vehicles are accounted for. One parked wherever it usually was, somewhere where friends knew to find it, and the other was found at the campsite near their bodies. MOO

 

[wary]

bbm
Oh, my, I haven't even thought about getaway time. You nailed it. Probably not from the area; gotthehell outta there asap, and could be 500 miles away. Or merely 75 miles away. And anyone who saw the do-er, not knowing what he had done, or anyone who heard the shots, and thought it wasn't abnormal, would probably be an out-of-towner as well, and long gone. Damm.

And what’s worse, out of the area in a way that would seem perfectly natural and reasonable.

MOO

 

[Deleted member 269000]

I know it doesn’t seem like there’s much to go on, but given the position of the bodies and their clothing as described upthread, I wouldn’t be particularly surprised if DNA evidence was recovered. And given that the creep allegedly stalked and intimidated them before the murders, if he is responsible, it wouldn’t shock me if he has a criminal record. Or if he doesn’t, I don’t think it’ll stay that way for long.

MOO

 

[Springrain]

Crystal and Kalen told friends of a "creeper dude" that pitched a tent near them and they were going to move camp sites. Odd timing on that, and no real news on if they moved.
Crystal and Kalen were discovered by a friend who took it upon herself to help find them.

I read in some MSM articles that they said they were GOING to move to a different camp, but no word on if they actually had - imo, it is possible they were in the process of moving campsites when they were attacked by the aforementioned creepy dude. Article from The Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/surveillance-footage-shows-last-time-murdered-moab-camping-couple-kylen-schulte-and-crystal-beck-seen-alive

Maybe I’m taking it too literally, but LE’s statement seemed to dismiss the possibility that there is a danger to the local community, not the community-at-large.

Per ABC4 (snipped & BBM)—
“At this time the Grand County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an ongoing homicide investigation” adding “The Grand County Sheriff’s Office believes there is no current danger to the public in the Grand County area”

I thought that too. Two women were brutally murdered, how is there NOT a danger to the community, especially to women? It almost makes me wonder if they think the killer is not local, but that's just loose speculation.

The three options that make the most sense, in my opinion are:

1. Since the campsite was perhaps fairly secluded, it could have been just a random deranged person happening by and discovered their campsite.
2. Someone from the bar/tavern/eating establishment they were last seen at followed them to their campsite.
3. The person they were frightened of.

I think it's a combination of #1 and #3 - that the creepy dude they mentioned at the bar spotted them at their campsite and started stalking and probably harassing them.

I know it doesn’t seem like there’s much to go on, but given the position of the bodies and their clothing as described upthread, I wouldn’t be particularly surprised if DNA evidence was recovered. And given that the creep allegedly stalked and intimidated them before the murders, if he is responsible, it wouldn’t shock me if he has a criminal record. Or if he doesn’t, I don’t think it’ll stay that way for long.

MOO

I am holding out hope for DNA recovery. It seems that the couple was murdered outdoors or in their van, so the killer/s probably wouldn't have had the chance to try to clean up the crime scene the way he could in a house. I know they were shot, but if there was a physical altercation beforehand or the killer moved their bodies, there should be DNA evidence under their fingernails or at least SOMEWHERE on their bodies. If there was sexual assault (very likely imo), there should be DNA evidence from that. I feel it can be solved. I deeply hope so.

 

[Springrain]

I'm suspicious of the "creepy guy" comment. Can it be verified? To whom did they say it?

Reminds me of another (unsolved) case here on WS where a "creepy guy" comment that never actually happened ended up being passed around and accepted as fact.....

They said it while in the local bar with their friend with the initials KB. Check The Daily Beast article: Footage Shows Last Time Slain Camping Couple Seen Alive

 

[Springrain]

Their friend CST who found Kylen's body and was the one who called police who then found Crystal's body posted pics on Facebook of the campsite where they were found.

Available at this link: imgur.com

I am still frustrated at the comment by LE that there's no imminent danger and nothing to worry about.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

Warrants in Moab murders reveal second vehicle, multiple gunshots, 'creepy man' — KUTV (Sept. 9)
<snipped & BBM>
"The wounds were located on the backs, sides, and/or chests of the victims," the court documents state. They were reported missing two days before their bodies were found and the documents state that Schulte had told friends there was a "creepy man" around their camp that intimidated the women. The documents state:

“Investigators were informed that Kylen had mentioned to her friends that if something happened to them, that they were murdered.”

Information from the warrants say that both bodies were undressed from the waist down at the campsite that had "normal amenities for a long-term camp site were observed."

[...]

Officials with the Grand County Sheriff's Office said they believe someone killed the women and fled the area.

 

[evilwise]

Jeez the more that comes out the more it does sound like a replay of Rebecca Wight & Claudia Brenner. Makes me feel like lesbian couples are in especially great danger while primitive camping.