An Ann Arbor, Mich., man has been charged with two counts of murder after two bodies were found in the trunk of a car that the highway patrol stopped on Interstate 70 in Sevier County.
Investigators think Patrick L. Daniel, 31, was driving from Michigan to Las Vegas to dispose of the man and woman, said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Doug McCleve.
Daniel carried no identification and isn't speaking to investigators, McCleve said. Police aren't sure of a motive yet, and they don't know where or how the victims were killed.
McCleve said at least one of the victims probably knew Daniel. Police haven't confirmed the identities of the two, though they are believed to be from Michigan, he said.
Investigators in Ann Arbor were searching a home there on Friday. They said the home was connected to Daniel, but would not elaborate.
"It's very early in the investigation and what we know is extremely limited," Sgt. Michael Logghe, the department's spokesman, told The Ann Arbor News.
Utah Highway Patrol Capt. Keith D. Squires said Trooper Kelly Roberts stopped the westbound car at 4:52 p.m. Thursday on I-70 near Joseph, which is 12 miles southwest of Richfield and 149 miles south of Salt Lake City, for not having a front registration plate.
The driver had no identification, there was no registration certificate or proof of insurance and the vehicle registration was not on file.
Roberts took Daniel into custody due to the lack of papers, called for backup and impounded the vehicle.
"He's given us two very limited interviews, just basically identification type things, and that's all he's willing to talk about," Sevier County Sheriff Phil Barney said of the driver. "He's now invoked his rights for an attorney, so we can't do anything further with him."
As Roberts and Trooper Doug Tenney inventoried the car's contents, they found the woman's body concealed in the trunk. They stopped searching and the car was taken to the sheriff's office for further investigation by experts.
Squires said that some time later, the body of a man was found concealed in the trunk. He would not say how it was concealed, only that it was not readily visible.
"It's a very bizarre crime, a very unusual one is how I'll put it," Barney said.
Daniel doesn't appear to have much of a police record, McCleve said. A shoplifting charge is the only thing investigators have found on his record.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
