SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) — Three people suspected of murdering a California yoga instructor were arrested in Portland this week, and now investigators believe they are tied to another murder.
The three suspects have been identified as Sean Michael Angold, 24, Morrison Haze Lampley, 23, and Lila Scott Allgood, 18.
Late Thursday night authorities revealed the three young suspects had property belonging to Audrey Carey, a Canadian tourist recently killed in San Francisco.
All three are expected to be charged with the robbery and murder of Carey.
Authorities said they also recovered the gun thought to be the one used to kill a popular tantra yoga teacher when they arrested three drifters in Oregon traveling in the victim’s car.
Police say the homeless trio used a handgun stolen from an unlocked car to rob and shoot Carey and Steve Carter.
San Francisco Police Lt. Toney Chaplin said the handgun was reported stolen on Oct. 1 from the Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood in San Francisco.
The body of Carey was found two days later in Golden Gate Park. Carey was shot in the head.
Marin County Sheriff’s Lt. Doug Pittman said the three young suspects will be extradited to California after investigators tracked them from the homicide scene from a scenic hiking trail 20 miles north of San Francisco to a community dining hall 600 miles away in Portland, Oregon.
Pittman declined to discuss a possible motive for the killing of Carter Monday evening near Fairfax, California. “It’s still very early in our investigation,” Pittman said.
They 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.”
Mark Reano, owner of Greenbridge Gas & Auto in Point Reyes, said authorities came to the station early Wednesday for the video. “They grabbed it and went,” said Reano, who did not see the suspects.
Authorities have not provided a motive for the attack and 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.
Detectives believe Carter drove to the trail near Fairfax in his car Monday evening. Another hiker found his body about 6 p.m.
Followers credited Carter with improving their romantic relationships by teaching tantra, a philosophy of meditation, yoga and sexuality famously embraced by rock star Sting.
Stunned students and supporters mourned their beloved teacher who was shot multiple times.
The Carters launched the Ecstatic Living Institute in rural Middletown, California, about 16 years ago to teach tantra to couples around the world. They held workshops nearby at the clothing-optional Harbin Hot Springs, which was destroyed last month in a wildfire.
“He was my mentor,” said Greg Whitmore, 37, a firefighter who attended several weeklong retreats led by the Carters. “It was intoxicating. People wanted to be around him.”
Last year, the couple turned the institute over to a former student, Logan Rose, and moved to Costa Rica in semi-retirement, teaching an occasional class. But soon after moving, Lokita was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“It has been a very traumatic season for us with Lokita’s cancer, then the Valley Fire that destroyed our beloved Harbin Hot Springs,” Rose said.
“This is the most devastating blow,” Rose said of the homicide. “We are heartbroken.”
Lokita Carter didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Joya Petra Gallasch said Carter was responsible for adding her new first name during a training session at Harbin Hot Springs. She was depressed at the time, and Carter led her to adopt the new first name of Joya, Gallasch said.
“I’ve always been a super joyous person,” Gallasch said. “He knew intuitively that it was time to get a new name. He exuded a form of brilliance.”
A hiker found Carter’s body less than an hour after deputies responded to a report of shots fired and didn’t see anything suspicious.
Carter’s brother, Michael Carter, said he knew of no one who disliked his brother.
“I can’t imagine that it’s anything other than a random thing,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle. “All of it seems very random and unbelievable. Nothing makes any sense.”