WASHINGTON CITY, Utah — Two teenage girls, including the victim's daughter, have been charged with first-degree felony murder in connection to the death of a woman whose body was found inside a southern Utah vacation home last month.
Mihaela Sorescu, 16, and Abigael Flanagan, 17, were formally charged Friday in 5th District Court and are being held in the Dixie Area Detention Center in Washington County.
The body of the 47-year-old Andreea Mottram was discovered on March 23 inside a home in the Sendera at Sierra Hills community after having been stabbed 14 times.
Sorescu was identified in court documents Friday as Mottram's daughter. Newly released evidence showed how Sorescu's father told police that in November he had found his daughter's diary in which she had written "how much she hated her mother and wrote that she wanted to kill her."
During a search of the home where Mottram was found, phones were located in the toilet that belonged to Sorescu and Flanagan, along with an ID inside a purse. A detective said those items "appear to have been placed in the toilet and attempted to be flushed in an effort to conceal evidence and/or delay apprehension."
Evidence technicians also located several knives inside the home, including one in the sink that had been washed off but had "trace amounts of blood," according to court documents. Pants discovered in the home also had blood on both legs as well as a "bloody imprint of a knife blade." Detectives wrote that due to the size of the pants, it is believed they belonged to Sorescu.
Following Mottram's death, the teens were originally called "persons of interest" by the Washington City Police Department, who were searching for the girls after they left the area. The teenagers were later found in Los Angeles County and extradited back to Utah.
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Sorescu has been in a Washington County residential treatment facility for the past three years, court documents show, while Flanagan had been there for at least a year before being removed by her parents.
In a release Friday, police said Mottram traveled to the state with Flanagan to visit her daughter days before her death. The teens then allegedly stole Mottram's rental car to leave the area.
Mottram was a social worker and co-founder of disability and refugee aid associations in the U.S. and Romania, including the Chicago-based American Romanian Coalition for Human and Equal Rights (ARCHER), and a leading advocacy and aid group for autistic individuals in Romania.
She did that out of love for her two sons, both of whom are on the spectrum. Mottram later adopted Mihael, who is now accused of killing her mother.
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"The apprehension of both suspects is a crucial step in the investigation," the Washington City Police Department said. "However, the investigation team is currently following up on many aspects of the case. Again, our sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of the victim of this senseless act of violence."
