Two adults are dead, another is in jail, and a child is in state custody after Cochise County Sheriff’s deputies discovered two concealed bodies Saturday in Sunizona while investigating reports that a Pennsylvania woman in town for a custody exchange had not been heard from for two days.
Gregory Michael Carlson is charged with two counts of murder, two counts of concealment of a dead body, and three counts of obstructing justice. He is being held in the Cochise County jail on a no bond order.
One of the deceased is Duong T. Nguyen, the mother of Carlson’s young daughter. The second deceased person is described as a companion of Nguyen’s.
According to a CCSO spokeswoman, deputies were dispatched to a residence in the rural community of Sunizona in east central Cochise County after learning that Nguyen traveled to Cochise County to pick up her daughter per a court custody agreement. However, she had not been in contact with anyone since Sept. 2.
“A check on the home located in Sunizona mentioned by the caller resulted in Deputies locating the child and father,” according to Capas, who added that Carlson acknowledged the custody swap was scheduled to occur, but he had not heard from Nguyen.
“As the investigation proceeded and information was gathered through various sources, Deputies again returned to the home of Carlson and took him into custody for questioning in this case,” Capas said.
Search warrants were obtained for the property, leading to the recovery of evidence to support the murder charges, she said.
Court records out of Maricopa County show Nguyen filed a family court action in October 2019. The case remains open, with the last filing occurring just last month.
