Man accused of fatally shooting ex, dumping body in remote Utah desert with fiancée’s help
05/11/2022 11:58 am PDT
TOOELE COUNTY, Utah (TCD) -- A man was arrested after reportedly admitting to fatally shooting his missing 23-year-old ex-girlfriend and dumping her body in a remote area of the Utah desert.
According to a press release from the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, a woman’s body was found May 6 in the Five Mile Pass Recreational Area. That same evening, the Sheriff’s Office says Brooklyn Tyree was reported missing. She was last seen by her ex-boyfriend, Brandon Zipperle.
Tyree was allegedly on her way to see friends in the Tooele area earlier in the week, but she had not been heard from since.
Video surveillance from May 3 revealed Tyree and her 7-month-old child getting into a car with Zipperle, the father of the juvenile, KSTU-TV reports. Authorities were reportedly able to identify the victim because the clothes Tyree was wearing in the video matched the clothes on the body found in the desert.
Upon further investigation, the Sheriff’s Office says locational data was recovered from both Tyree’s and Zipperle’s phones, which showed the two were near Five Mile Pass on May 3.
On Tuesday, May 10, Zipperle was scheduled to meet with a parole officer, and he was brought in for an interview, the Sheriff’s Office says. During the interview, Zipperle reportedly admitted to shooting Tyree, hiding her body, and disposing of her personal belongings.
During a search warrant served at Zipperle’s home, the Sheriff’s Office found a shoe belonging to his fiancée, 28-year-old Elizabeth Ludwig. The tread reportedly matched a footprint found at the crime scene.
Ludwig was brought in for an interview, and she allegedly admitted to helping Zipperle hide the body and dispose of the victim’s belongings.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Zipperle was arrested and booked into the Tooele County Detention Center for murder and obstruction of justice. Ludwig was arrested and booked into the Tooele County Detention Center for obstruction of justice only.
Tyree’s child is in the care of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, KSTU reports.
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