Suspect named in killings of Moab couple, but that person has also died

MOAB, Utah (KSL.com) — The Grand County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday, for the first time, that investigators had identified a suspect in the August killings of Kylen “Ky” Carrol Schulte and Crystal Turner.

But that person has died by suicide, according to the sheriff’s office.

Adam Pinkusiewicz, who used to work at the McDonald’s in Moab where Turner was also employed, was named a suspect in the couple’s death in a prepared statement from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators said they learned that Pinkusiewicz was in the La Sal Mountains and Moab at the time of the women’s deaths, then left Utah shortly after the homicides and later took his own life. The sheriff’s office stated that detectives conducted many interviews and received information that prior to the suicide “Adam Pinkusiewicz told another party that he had killed two women in Utah and provided specific details that were known only to investigators.”

The sheriff’s office also said Wednesday that despite this information, their investigation is still active and “the case is not closed.” “Critical and newly discovered” evidence is still being processed, according to the statement, including Pinkusiewicz’s vehicle, which was recently located.

The sheriff’s office said that before labeling him a “suspect,” Pinkusiewicz was “one of many persons of interest” in the investigation, and numerous attempts had been made to locate him without success.

Information about when he died, where he went after leaving Utah and where his vehicle was found, was not released on Wednesday.

The bodies of the two recently married women were found in the South Mesa area of La Sal Loop Road in August. They were last seen on Aug. 13 about 8:30 p.m. leaving a tavern in Moab. They drove to a campsite in the La Sal Mountains.

At some point during the weekend, friends say the women called to inform others that they were moving to a different campsite because of a “weirdo” nearby who was “freaking them out.” Schulte told friends in a phone call that they were switching campsites because of a “creepy” man who was nearby, and if something happened to them, they were likely murdered, according to search warrants.

Schulte, 24, and Turner, 38, were reported missing on Aug. 16 after failing to show up for work. On Aug. 18, after a co-worker went looking for them, the bodies of the women were found partially clothed in a creek near their campsite. Both were shot multiple times.

Until Wednesday, no suspects had been named in the case and no one has been arrested.

Anyone with information on Pinkusiewicz or his 2007 Yaris is asked to call the Grand County Sheriff’s Office at 435-259-8115.