PHOENIX — The man suspected of murdering two Valley teens at Mount Ord in May has pleaded not guilty.
Thomas Brown, 31, was in court Friday and entered a not guilty plea in front of a judge. On October 14, he was indicted by a Grand Jury for two counts of first-degree murder.
On May 27, deputies with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office were called to a remote camping area of Mount Ord regarding the deaths of two teens.
Mount Ord is located off State Route 87, northeast of the Valley and south of Payson.
The teens were later identified as 18-year-old Pandora Kjolsrud and 17-year-old Evan Clark. They both attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner ruled their deaths as "homicides," and later, MCSO revealed the teens had died from gunshot wounds.
Following a four-month investigation by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, Brown was arrested on October 2. A judge set a $2 million cash-only bond.
According to court documents, officials received numerous tips about the murders, including a tip from Brown, who said he had been camping in the area at the time and had video from his personal drone that he flew on the mountain.
A group of campers also shared a tip saying they encountered a man who was “being strange." The man was driving a Blue Kia Rio, which detectives tracked as being registered to Brown.
Brown told officials during an interview that he was camping in the area with his wife from May 23-26, however, his wife left on May 25. He said after his wife left, he encountered a “younger male and female” whose descriptions and vehicle matched those of the victims.
Brown said he never had “physical contact” with the victims but said he rummaged through the pair’s items that he found at their campsite, and “put the items back and left them there.”
Police documents say Brown denied knowing why his DNA would have been found on any of the victims. Brown’s claims contradicted the findings from evidence, police say. According to court paperwork, Brown's DNA was allegedly found inside the victim's vehicle and in gloves found at the crime scene.
At a news conference, MCSO said they are unaware of a prior association or link between the victims and the suspect, and the motive remains unclear. The teens' actions or behavior are not believed to have been the reasons for their killings.
Brown served in the U.S. Army as an infantryman and with the Arizona Army National Guard as a Staff Sergeant from October 2013 to December 2022, according to Army officials.
Brown's next scheduled court date is December 4 for an initial pretrial conference.
