Man ordered to stand trial in deaths of teens in mine shaft

A judge is ordering a Utah man to stand trial on aggravated murder and other charges in the deaths of two teenagers whose bodies were found tossed down a mine shaft.

Judge Derek Pullan handed down the decision Monday in the case of Jerrod Baum, who is accused of stabbing the teens and tossing their bodies into the mine in December 2017.

His girlfriend Morgan Henderson has testified he got angry and killed the teenage couple after they visited her despite his warning not to have male visitors. Baum’s defense attorney has questioned her credibility and challenged her memory of certain details.

Seventeen-year-old Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson and 18-year-old Riley Powell were missing for nearly three months before their bodies were found in March 2018.

Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.