Utah man charged with aggravated murder after admitting to shooting, killing the mother of his child
May 12, 2022, 4:33 PM
FILE (Tooele County Sheriff's Office Facebook Page)
(Tooele County Sheriff's Office Facebook Page)
TOOELE COUNTY, Utah — A Pleasant Grove man was formally charged with aggravated murder Thursday after authorities say he admitted to shooting and killing a 23-year-old woman who he shared a child with and then hiding her body in Tooele County.
Brandon Scott Zipperle, 28, was also charged in Third Judicial District Court with:
- Two counts of obstructing justice
- Purchase, transfer, possession or use of a firearm by restricted person
According to the probable cause statement, a woman was found dead in Tooele County on Friday, May 6.
That same day, deputies with the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office were contacted by the Salt Lake City Police Department about locating a woman who had been known to camp in the Five Mile Pass area.
On the morning of May 7, deputies returned to the area to process the crime scene for evidence and transport it back to the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office.
“At the time of processing the scene, we were unable to positively identify the deceased female and connect her to the ATL broadcasted by SLCPD,” read the probable cause statement.
Two days later on May 9, an autopsy was conducted on the victim. Deputies say Dr. Kacy Krehbiel determined the the woman’s manner of death to be a homicide and the cause of death to be a gunshot from an indeterminable range.
Later that day, according to the probable cause statement, SLCPD officers shared video footage with deputies that showed Zipperle picking up the victim and their baby on Tuesday, May 3 at her apartment.
“I recognized the clothing the victim was wearing in the security video matched the clothing worn by the victim when she was found deceased at the crime scene,” a Tooele County deputy wrote in the probable cause statement.
The document also stated that the victim’s son, who she shared with Zipperle, was presently in the custody of Zipperle and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Ludwig.
Deputies then requested locational data from both Zipperle and the victim’s phones, which put the two in the area of Five Mile Pass on May 3.
The woman was later identified in a press release from the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office as 23-year-old Brooklyn Tyree.
On Tuesday, May 10, deputies met with Zipperle at the Adult Probation & Parole office in Provo, then transported him back to the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office for further questioning.
“While at the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, I read Brandon his Miranda Rights and interviewed him. During the interview, Brandon admitted to shooting the victim, hiding the victim’s body, pawning the firearm used in the murder, and disposing of the victim’s personal belongings,” read the probable cause statement.
Elizabeth Ludwig, who was identified in the probable cause statement as Zipperle’s girlfriend, was then brought in to the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office for an interview.
“During the interview, 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,” read the probable cause statement.
Zipperle was booked into the Tooele County Detention Center on charges of murder and obstruction of justice, while Ludwig was booked into the Tooele County Detention Center on charges of obstruction of justice.
