Buried in the Backyard on Oxygen: What happened to teen couple Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson?

Teen couple Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson went missing in late December 2017 while heading home to Eureka, Utah, where they resided with the former's grandfather. Their bound and stabbed bodies were found months later down a 100 feet abandoned mine shaft in Utah's west desert.

The discovery was made after the victims' friend Morgan Lewis informed authorities that her boyfriend Jarrod Baum kidnapped and murdered them before tossing their bodies down the mine shaft. He discovered them hanging out with Lewis at her place on December 30, which led to the incident.

Last April, Baum was found guilty of two counts of aggravated murder and aggravated kidnapping, among other charges. He was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without parole.

An upcoming episode of Buried in the Backyard on Oxygen will revisit the brutal murders of Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson. The episode, titled Hundred-Foot Grave, airs this Saturday, July 22, at 8:00 pm ET.

Here's an official synopsis:

"A young couple sets out from a holiday visit but never makes it home as law enforcement search dangerous terrain fraught with derelict silver mines."

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Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson's bodies found in an abandoned mine shaft months after they went missing

Riley Powell, 18, and Breezy Otteson, 17, were last heard from on December 29, 2017. The teen couple were returning to their Eureka, Utah, home when they were reported missing on January 2, 2018, following which an extensive search and investigation were launched.

Months later, on March 27, their bodies were found in a 100 feet abandoned mine shaft. The place is called Tintic Standard Mine and is located in a remote Utah County area. Reports state that their hands appeared to have been tied behind their backs and that they had stab wounds.

Powell and Otteson's bodies were discovered after their friend Morgan Lewis informed police that her boyfriend, Jarrod Baum, killed the couple and dumped their bodies in the mine shaft. The confession came on March 25, when Lewis was pulled over for speeding and arrested on drug and weapons-related charges.

Lewis had previously denied knowing their whereabouts during the initial stages of the investigation and had attempted to mislead authorities by telling them that Powell likely got into a fight on New Year's Eve. At first, she also claimed that the teen couple never visited her before going missing.

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What exactly happened to teen couple Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson?

According to Morgan Lewis' confession, Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson, before heading home in late December, made one final stop at her Spanish Fork house. The three were hanging out when the 34-year-old's boyfriend, Jarrod Baum, arrived and told her how she "couldn’t have guy friends."

Enraged, Baum kidnapped Powell and Otteson, duct-taping their mouths, binding their hands, loading them in a jeep, and driving them to the Tintic Standard Mine with Lewis in the passenger seat. There, he first beat and repeatedly stabbed Powell, pushing him down the mine shaft, before slitting Otteson's throat and pushing her down as well.

Within days after the teens' bodies were found, both Baum and Lewis were arrested. The former was charged with first-degree murder and other felony charges, to which he pleaded not guilty. Lewis faced two second-degree felony counts of obstructing justice.

In April 2022, 46-year-old Jarrod Baum was found guilty of two counts of aggravated murder and aggravated kidnapping, among other charges, in Riley Powell and Breezy Otteson's murders. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole last June.

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Learn more about the case on Oxygen's Buried in the Backyard this Saturday.