Man pleads not guilty to killing 2 Arcadia high school students
Thomas Brown pleads not guilty to murders
The suspect accused of killing two Phoenix high school students in the Tonto National Forest pleaded not guilty on Oct. 17.
PHOENIX - The man accused of killing two Phoenix high school students while on a camping trip in the Tonto National Forest has pleaded not guilty.
Thomas Brown, 31, appeared in court on Oct. 17. He is accused of two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Arcadia High School students, 18-year-old Pandora Kjolsrud and 17-year-old Evan Clark.
The backstory:
On May 27, the bodies of Kjolsrud and Clark were found in the Mount Ord area of the Tonto National Forest.
Brown was arrested more than four months after the murders.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says Brown contacted them after the bodies were found, saying that he had taken drone video on the mountain the same weekend that the teens were killed.
Alleged killer of 2 teens offered information to investigators
31-year-old Thomas Brown allegedly contacted officers shortly after two teens were found shot to death in the Tonto National Forest.
MCSO says Brown's DNA found on evidence, including on a pair of bloody gloves, ultimately led to his arrest.
What's next:
Brown is jailed on a $2 million bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 4. His trial is set for June 2026.
Map of Mount Ord
The Source: Information for this story was gathered from Thomas Brown's appearance in Maricopa County Superior Court on Oct. 17, 2025, and previous FOX 10 reports on Oct. 3 and 8.