Lesbian couple shot dead in Utah after alerting friends to ‘creepy guy’ near their campsite
The bodies of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner were discovered by a friend four days after they were reported missing
Two recently married women were found shot to death in Utah, just days after they complained about a “creepy guy” near their campsite.
The bodies of Kylen Schulte, 24, and Crystal Turner, 38, were discovered on Aug. 18 near their campsite in the La Sal Mountains by a friend who went searching for them after they failed to return home from their trip.
A four-day search had been underway to track down the couple, who lived in Moab and had been married for just four months, after they went missing on Aug. 14.
Bridget Calvert, Schulte’s aunt, told FOX 13 Utah that the friend, Cindy Sue Hunter, “was on the phone with my brother when she pulled up to the [couple’s] car.”
Hunter spotted a body and immediately contacted Grand County Sheriff’s Office, whose deputies found a second body after arriving, Calvert said.
Sheriff’s Office Capt. Shan Hackwell told FOX 13 that the couple’s deaths are being investigated as homicides, with no suspect yet identified.
Hackwell said there was nothing to indicate that the public was in danger, adding, “The evidence that we’ve gathered at this time, that’s what it’s led us to believe was an isolated incident.”
Calvert disputed that in an interview with KUTV, asking how police could “say the community is not at danger when there is a killer at large, please tell me how that works?”
She said that Schulte and Turner had repeatedly told friends about a “creepy guy” near their campsite in the days before they died.
“Friday evening, they were with friends and told them there was a creepy guy at their campsite, just ‘this guy creeped us out, might have to move,'” Calvert said. “Saturday, they told their friends ‘there’s been this creepy guy at our site, we’re definitely moving campsites today.'”
In the hours before their bodies were discovered, Schulte’s father, Sean-Paul Schulte, posted on Facebook that his daughter and her wife had “told close friends that there was a weirdo camping near them that was freaking them out! And that they should move campsites. Now they have been missing for over 4 days and nights!”
The FBI has since been drafted in to help investigate the murders, WPTV reports, with Grand County Sheriff Steven White saying that it was one of the largest investigations his office had ever undertaken.
“Just know that everything is being done that we can possibly do, that is why we have asked for the additional resources,” he said. “We want to make sure we do it thorough. We do it complete and we do it right.”
White called the murders “totally devastating,” adding, “This is my home. This is where I was born and raised. I take it not only on a professional level but on a personal level that I want to get to the bottom of this.”
Calvert told FOX 13 that her niece had “a beautiful soul” that was “complimented with someone like Crystal…they could really enjoy life and do it together.”
“We’re going to let their love-light shine,” she added. “They had the most beautiful love, and that light is not stopping.”
The family has since established a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses. At the time of writing, it has raised more than $32,000.
Read More:
Tennessee school calls police on Black student who defended trans classmate from bullies
Oregon couple builds huge Pride flag to counter local school board’s ban on LGBTQ symbols
LGBTQ Afghans fear persecution and death sentences as Taliban returns to power
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.