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The discovery of Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson's bodies in a 100 feet abandoned mineshaft in March 2018 concluded the months-long investigation into the teen couple's disappearance after they went missing in late December. The victims were reportedly bound and stabbed to death.
Reports state that Powell and Otteson's friend Morgan Lewis informed authorities how her furious boyfriend kidnapped the couple while they were visiting her house, drove them to the remote area, and murdered them before dumping their bodies in the mineshaft. The boyfriend, Jarrod Baum, was convicted of murder and other charges and sentenced to multiple consecutive life sentences only last year.
Oxygen's Buried in the Backyard is slated to chronicle Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson's murders in an episode, titled Hundred-Foot Grave, this Saturday, July 22, at 8 pm ET. The official synopsis of the episode says:
"A young couple sets out from a holiday visit but never makes it home as law enforcement search dangerous terrain fraught with derelict silver mines."
Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson's murders: Four details about the disappearance and murders of the teen couple
1) Powell and Otteson went missing while heading back home in December 2017
Riley Powell, 18, and Breezy Otteson, 17, were last heard from on December 29, 2017, while heading back to their home in Eureka, Utah, where they lived with the former's grandfather. The teen couple was reported missing on January 2, 2018. This was followed by an extensive search and investigation for months but to no avail. Powell's Jeep was discovered close to Cherry Creek Reservoir on January 9. The vehicle was hidden by some trees with two flat tires.
2) Their bodies were discovered in an abandoned 100-feet mineshaft
Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson's bodies were discovered months later, on March 27, in a remote, abandoned mineshaft in Utah County. The two were bound and stabbed to death. The discovery was made after one of their friends named Morgan Lewis, whose house they visited before going missing, made a chilling confession when she was arrested on drugs and weapons-related charges two days before and only confessed because she felt tremendously guilty.
3) Morgan Lewis claimed her boyfriend kidnapped and murdered Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson
According to reports, in her confession, Lewis claimed that Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson made a last stop at her Spanish Fork house before heading home in late December 2017. Her boyfriend, Jarrod Baum, who arrived at the house while the three were hanging out, became furious because he had told her that she "couldn’t have guy friends."
Baum then tied up the teens, duct-taped their mouths, and drove them in a jeep to the remote location, where he beat up Powell and then repeatedly stabbed him before shoving his body into the mineshaft. He allegedly forced Lewis and Otteson to witness the crime before slitting the latter's throat and dumping her body in the mineshaft as well.
A KSL TV report stated that Baum claimed that "he had made Riley suffer, but that he felt bad about Brelynne (who was allegedly pregnant at the time), so he made her death quick and painless."
4) Baum was found guilty of murder and kidnapping, among other charges
Jarrod Baum was arrested on March 28, a day after Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson's bodies were discovered and charged with first-degree murder and other felony charges, to which he pleaded not guilty. Morgan Lewis was also charged with two second-degree felony counts of obstructing justice.
Last April, Baum was found guilty of two counts each of aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping, and desecration of a body. He was also convicted of one count each of obstruction of justice and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person. Baum was given four consecutive life sentences.
Buried in the Backyard will further delve into the case this Saturday, July 22, at 8 pm ET.
