SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Three young drifters suspected in the shooting death of a tantra yoga teacher in Marin County are now accused of killing a Canadian woman in San Francisco.
The three will be charged with murder in the death late last week of Audrey Carey, San Francisco police said Thursday night.
The body of the 23-year-old Quebec woman, who was on a solo backpacking trip, was found Saturday in Golden Gate Park.
The report came shortly after police in Portland, Ore., booked the three suspects on murder warrants in the death of Steve Carter.
They said 23-year-old Morrison Haze Lampley, 24-year-old Sean Michael Angold and 18-year-old Lila Scott Alligood will be arraigned Friday.
The three are suspected of killing Carter, whose body was found Monday along a scenic hiking trail 20 miles north of San Francisco.
The suspects were arrested in Portland after authorities allegedly tracked them traveling in the victim's car.
San Francisco police said in a statement that investigators saw similarities in the two shootings, including that they both occurred in wooded or park areas. So city police traveled to Portland to investigate further.
Sgt. Michael Andraychak said that Carey's property, linking the suspects to the Golden Gate Park homicide, was found in the suspects' possession.
"The three suspects will be charged with the robbery and murder of Audrey Carey," he said.
Her body was discovered Saturday morning, following the first day of the music festival. Paramedics declared her dead at the scene.
Earlier Thursday, officials said they had recovered the gun believed to be the one used to kill the popular teacher in Marin County when they made the arrests in Oregon.
Marin County Sheriff's Lt. Doug Pittman said the three suspects will be extradited to California.
Pittman declined to discuss the type of gun recovered and any more details, including a possible motive for the killing of Steve Carter on Monday evening near Fairfax, California. "It's still very early in our investigation," Pittman said.
Authorities have described the suspects as drifters and said none has a known permanent address.
The trio may be transferred to a Marin County jail sometime next week, Pittman said.
A hiker found Carter's body about 6 p.m. Monday. Carter was still holding the leash of his dog, which was also shot. Carter's Doberman pinscher was turned over to the Marin County Humane Society and is expected to recover.
Carter drove to the trail, and his 2003 Volkswagen station wagon was gone when police showed up. Using GPS technology, Marin County sheriff's investigators tracked the car to Portland, where the three were arrested without incident.
Pittman said investigators were also aided by surveillance footage from a gas station in Point Reyes that showed the suspects with the stolen car about a half-hour after the slaying.
"So many people are in possession of cameras in cars, homes, businesses," he said. "Those types of systems became crucial to the pursuit and apprehension."
Authorities have said it did not appear the suspects knew the victim. Pittman said it was unclear if Carter might have been targeted for his car or other belongings.
Followers credited Carter with improving their romantic relationships by teaching tantra, a philosophy of meditation, yoga and sexuality famously embraced by rock star Sting.
