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Two men arrested in connection with fatal Orem crash, police say

Posted at 8:18 PM, Nov 19, 2013
and last updated 2013-11-20 08:08:17-05

OREM -- What police thought was a car accident has turned into a murder investigation with two suspects in custody.

At approximately 3:15 a.m. Tuesday, police said Rupert Miley, 42, left willingly with two men he knew.

During the drive, cops said one of the two shot Miley in the back.  Police won't say who fired the fatal shot or what the motive was, but detectives believe the two suspects were in on it together.

Miley was shot inside the vehicle near 800 North and 800 East.

The vehicle continued for several blocks taking out trees, light poles, signs and a fire hydrant before crashing at 800 North and 200 East.

Police said the amount of blood they found on Miley didn't match injuries consistent with the accident. Cops discovered a chrome revolver outside of the car, which is believed to be the murder weapon.

"Right now we've recovered one handgun, a revolver which belongs to one of the suspects' father and we had one shot fired inside the car," Orem Police Lt. Craig Martinez said.

Initially police thought there was one passenger in the car, identified as Mason French, 24. Police said as the investigation continued they learned of a second passenger who left the scene before cops arrived.

Detectives identified him as Travis Waldron, 24.

Forty officers, including SWAT teams from multiple agencies, spent three hours tracking down Waldron, and found him at a home in southwest Orem.

"They raided the home.  It was on consent of the homeowner and he was taken into custody without incident," Martinez said.  "I can tell you our detectives wrote two search warrants here in Orem.  One at the victim's home, one at the suspect's home and one where the suspect was found."

As of Tuesday night, French and Waldron were being held at Orem Police headquarters, but they'll be booked into the Utah County jail Wednesday on murder and obstruction of justice charges.  Police said Waldron also faces a charge for having a gun since he's a restricted person.