PHOENIX — Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell sat down with ABC15 to provide an update on a murder case that thrust the family of Ben Anderson into a murder mystery.
ABC15 spoke with Anderson's close friend, Susan Dzbanko, on New Year's Day.
"It's been four years, which is very hard to believe," said Dzbanko.
Anderson's body was found on New Year's Eve, 2021, in the middle of the desert in New River, hours after canceling brunch plans with friends. His body wasn't identified until days later.
The 41-year-old’s Lexus was found torched in a Phoenix parking lot, and months later, his phone was spotted in a canal.
Anderson's case was previously featured in an episode of ABC15's streaming series Arizona Crime Uncovered.
His loved ones have been pushing for justice since his death, and County Attorney Rachel Mitchell says she knows they are waiting for answers.
REVIEWING THE SUBMITTALS
Back in September, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office told ABC15 they submitted charges to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
One of the suspects, Jaden Kaufman, was already in prison serving time for manslaughter. The other suspect was not in custody.
On Monday, County Attorney Mitchell sat down with ABC15 to provide an update on the review of those submittals.
"This is a massive case," said Mitchell.
She said the report alone is around five thousand pages, and there are close to two thousand digital media files now being reviewed.
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"There’s about 1,900 files of digital media, and that could be different things," said Mitchell. "First of all, it could be body-worn cam, it can be security footage, it can be surveillance footage, it can also be interviews, social media, cell phone downloads."
Mitchell said one prosecutor, possibly with some help, has to review everything to ensure they are prepared for a charging decision and a potential preliminary hearing or presentation to a grand jury.
"It is a painstaking process, but you want to get it right the first time," said Mitchell. "And the other part of that is if there’s something missing, you want to get that upfront. Because once we file charges, timelines go into place."
POTENTIAL CHARGES
MCSO would only share the charges that investigators submitted for the 24-year-old already behind bars. Those included first-degree murder, robbery, and arson.
Monday, MCAO would also not share the submittal details regarding the second suspect.
ABC15 asked what the concerns were with a person out of custody who is a named suspect.
"It's not so much if MCSO puts out the name or not, if there’s not a concern, the person is going to flee," said Mitchell. "Likely, the person knows that they are suspected or under investigation. The issue that I have to balance as the head of the office is, you know, they are out there. This is serious. Is there a threat to society? Can we move this faster? Do we need more resources?"
She described those decisions as a "difficult balancing act."
The County Attorney also said she knows Anderson's loved ones have been waiting for answers.
"I will say this, we are working on it," said Mitchell. "It is a priority. We do care. We understand you’ve been waiting, not from us. We didn’t have the submittal, but we understand you are still waiting. And we want to get that done."
Mitchell could not provide us with a timeline on potential charges or a decision in the case.
