Post by Scumhunter on May 4, 2015 23:56:29 GMT -5
(above photo credit: Fox 10 Arizona station):
Yapavai County, Arizona authorities have been baffled by the campsite murder of Lisa Gurrieri & Brandon Rumbaugh for over a decade. The case was aired on AMW alongside the similar murder of Jason Allen & Lindsay Cutshall in California. Below is the AMW archived description of the case:
Young Arizona Couple Celebrates Their Anniversary
Lisa Gurrieri, 19, and Brandon Rumbaugh,20, had been dating a year and, according to family members, were planning on getting married. They had met in a local nightclub and had been together ever since. Family members say they had been living together for about two months.
On Friday, October 18, Lisa and Brandon decided to celebrate their one-year anniversary by going camping near Bumble Bee, an area one hour north of Scottsdale, Arizona. Locals say the area is known as Sunset Point and is a popular place for campers to visit. Lisa's mother, Paula, said it was more than just a popular place for her daughter and Brandon - it was where they went on their first date.
Friends say the couple planned to park overnight near Bumble Bee road and reminisce about when they first met. It all sounded wonderful. No one thought such an innocent date would turn into a nightmare.
Bodies Found In Sleeping Bags
But deputies from Yavapai County Sheriff's office say when the couple didn't return to the valley on Saturday, as planned, their friends went to look for them. Police say on Sunday, October 19, 2003, around 3:30 p.m., the couple's friends found them in the back of their truck.
Deputies say the couple had been shot several times in the head and were still lying in their sleeping bags. Autopsy reports revealed that there were no drugs or alcohol involved in the murders and there was no sign of a struggle.
Police questioned other campers who were less than one hundred yards from where the couple was camping, but police still haven't made any arrests.
Lisa was working as a secretary at Salt River Project. She was described by co-workers as someone that would light up a room. Brandon was a student at Mesa Community college and was working as a personal trainer.
Thoughts? Please see our thread on Jason Allen & Lindsay Cutshall for a brief description of similar campsite murders. Sadly it seems there is even less to work with in this case. Although no new suspects have been named (that I know of), in 2013 it was announced that Yapavai County investigators were turning to a new tactic- ballistics testing. Casings were recovered from the crime scene and the investigators did training with the ATF to enter them into a database called NIBIN -- the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. So while the case is cold itself, new technology can suddenly heat it up one day.
Admin Note #1: Since the crime occurred in Yapavai County, our advice for anyone with information would be to call Yapavai County's Silent Witness program at 1-800-932-3232
Admin Note #2: If you have any news-related updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form
web.archive.org/web/20070811114916/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=28023
www.fox10phoenix.com/story/22112136/2013/04/29/investigators-turn-to-ballistics-10-years-after-campsite-murders
