Sanpete traffic stop leads to arrest in teens murders

A traffic stop in Manti proved to be the break police needed to solve the missing persons case of two teens whose bodies were discovered in an abandoned mine in Utah County.  Jerrod Baum, 41, has been arrested and charged with the grisly murder of Riley Powell, 18, and Breezy Otteson, 17, but it was the arrest of his live-in girlfriend, Morgan Henderson, that started the chain of events that ended with the discovery of their bodies.  Henderson was arrested on River Lane in Manti on Sunday, March 25 after a traffic stop.  Sanpete County Sheriff’s Deputy Casey Mickelsen observed a car approaching at a high rate of speed and pulled it over for speeding.  The driver was Henderson.  After noticing an ax on the floor of the car, Mickelsen and another deputy arrested Henderson for being a restricted person in possession of a dangerous weapon.  Additional charges have been filed in Sanpete County, including possession of drugs, driving on a denied license, open container, no proof of insurance, and the speeding charge.  During an interview at the Sanpete County Jail that Sunday, Henderson admitted she had seen the two teens the night of their disappearance.  After further interviews in Utah County, she finally admitted to being present when Baum murdered the two and disposed of their bodies.  Both Baum and Henderson are being held in the Utah County Jail on charges connected to the murders.  Henderson will appear for a waiver hearing on the charges in Sanpete County on April 25.