Pleasant Grove man charged with killing his ex-girlfriend in Tooele County

TOOELE, Utah — A 28-year-old Pleasant Grove man was charged Thursday with killing his ex-girlfriend and then hiding her body in Tooele County.

Brandon Scott Zipperle appeared in 3rd District Court where he was charged with one count of murder, a first-degree felony, and two counts of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony. Elizabeth Anne Ludwig, his fiance was charged earlier in the week on three counts of obstruction of justice. 

Ex-girlfriend’s body found 

Zipperle is accused of killing Brooklyn Elise Odland Tyree, 23. It is alleged that he left her body in the area of Five Mile Pass, and hid her body in sagebrush under a sleeping bag.  

According to the probable cause statement, law enforcement officials discovered a female body late in the day on May 6 in a remote area of Tooele County. The next day as evidence was being processed, the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Salt Lake City Police about an overdue female, who was known to camp in the area of Five Mile Pass in Tooele County.

On Monday, the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on the victim. At the conclusion of the autopsy, officials there determined the manner of death to be a homicide and the cause of death was a gunshot wound, according to the probable cause statement.

Later Monday, Salt Lake City Police showed officers with the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office video footage of Zipperle picking up the victim and her baby at her apartment on May 3. 

Clothing matched

The probable cause statement says authorities from the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office recognized the clothing worn by Zipperle’s girlfriend in the video footage as matching that worn by the deceased victim.

Zipperle was questioned by the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday. According to the probable cause statement, Zipperle admitted to shooting the victim and hiding her body. The probable cause statement further states that Zipperle also admitted to pawning the firearm used in the murder and disposing of the possessions belonging to the victim. 

Ludwig was also questioned by Tooele County authorities, and the probable cause statement says “Elizabeth admitted to assisting Brandon with hiding the victim’s body, pawning the firearm used in the murder, and disposing of the victim’s personal belongings.”

After admitting their involvement in the case, both Zipperle and Ludwig were booked into the Tooele County Jail.

Read more:

• One person in custody after brief police standoff in Tooele County
• Tooele couple arrested for abusive “discipline” of two boys

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